River of Opals
by TimeLordOfPie
Summary: A teenage girl gives up everything, in an attempt to help someone she doesn't even know, leading to a life of confusion and danger inside an anime she had sworn to avoid for good. Sequel is up: Of Emeralds and Opals Warnings for graphic violence, language, and torture.
1. Chapter 1

The table crashed to the floor in a flurry of papers and the wood gave a groan of protest before promptly collapsing in on itself. I glared at the flimsy TV table heaped in the middle of my room and leaned over the mess to yank my iPod out of the wreckage, untangling my headphones from a loose piece of debris. I glanced at the image on the screen and threw the offending object on my bed. The picture stared back mockingly.

A coffin was halfway down into the grave, surrounded by military personnel. I held in tears with sheer willpower, and turned away from it, grabbing the bag that was hanging from the bedpost, as well as the knee length khaki jacket that was trapped underneath it. Swinging my bedroom door open with more force than was probably necessary I called out to my Aunt Samantha.

"Sam, I'm headed out for the library."

She poked her head in from the kitchen, flour dusted across her lemon yellow apron, and caught in her dark blonde hair. Her green eyes surveyed me warily,

"What do you need from the library? You are aware we have wifi, right? Besides, I thought you were marathoning that anime your brother recommended for you. You loved it yesterday."

I shook my head rapidly.

"Your use of the past tense is the key here. Love-ED. Formerly. As in, no more. It was amazing, until they killed Hughes again. And Roy was crying! Well, he said it was raining, but that was probably to save face or something…In any case I am now DONE with Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood! I'm now going to the library to pick up that summer reading for AP English."

Sam looked at me blankly for a second before rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever just make sure that you're back by 7, Taylor should be back from work early and we can all eat dinner together. Why don't you just download the eBooks for those? It's much less work and takes up less space."

My house keys clinked as I grabbed them from the bowl on the sofa table by the door,

"You know very well that virtual books can't compare, they don't have the same smell and feel, plus if I'm going to remember this crap for the rest of my life I want the picture to be of traditional ink and paper."

Sam's demeanor changed almost automatically,

"About that, you've got your medicine, don't you? I would hate for you to have an episode in the middle of the library and be helpless. Maybe I should go with you just in case-"

I cut her off quickly,

"It's in my bag, I can handle myself. I've been dealing with this for a very long time now."

She looked unsure, "Yeah, you have, but no one really knows how an eidetic memory affects those in their teens, everyone else grows out of it between 6 and 12, that medicine isn't actually foolproof…"

Rolling my eyes again I waved as I walked to the door, "I know, I know. Believe me, I _know _the statistics. I'll be fine, see you at dinner Sam."

I caught my reflection in the hall mirror and stopped. Brown eyes stared back, set on a thin face framed with chin length, scraggly, coffee brown hair. It wasn't frizzy, curly, or straight. It was caught in that no man's land of extreme waves that made it look like I had just crawled out of the shower and bunched my hair up in a towel for 7 hours straight. My bangs were parted slightly to the left and were about eye length when they weren't swept off to the side.

I ran my eyes over my outfit to make sure that it matched. A Red t-shirt that proclaimed 'Dawn of the Daleks', dark boot-cut jeans, and ankle high black converse. My khaki jacket was a birthday present from my brother. It was a custom order female version of the tenth doctor's trench coat, and had a bewildering amount of hidden pockets on the inside. With one last disapproving look at my hair I charged out the door, swinging it shut behind me, and took off at a brisk pace for the library.

I had acted nonchalant in front of her but Sam's words brought back old worries. An eidetic memory was as close to perfect as was recorded so far, and even then it had its limits. How clear the mental image was supposedly faded after a few minutes, and the ability to keep the perfect recollections for even that long was supposed to fade around six years old. My brain had baffled doctors when I kept the images clear for indefinite amounts of time. And even more so when it lasted as long as it had. I was 17 and going into my senior year of high school with my memory still the way it had always been.

Remembering everything took its toll on me. I had trouble sleeping and my appetite faded. I was too thin, and any muscle I had from sports as a child had faded years ago. The only thing that kept my weight acceptable was a slight addiction to soda pop and various other junk foods, though it wasn't ideal in any sort of way. The kind of attention the ability brought was also unwanted. Teenagers didn't want a friend who would remember their every mistake, and who didn't even have to try to pass tests. Bullying was common, I tried not to care. There were always those that thought it 'cool', the other side of the metaphorical coin.

My most pressing issue was losing my mind. I was always told how brilliant it was, and how blessed I was to have what I did, but I didn't see it. I was constantly plagued with images, my head was getting crowded by the time I was around 14, when statistics and history stated the ability should have faded. I nearly went insane. But my brother Taylor came through for me, even if it was an accident. Apparently, a show starring a modern version of Sherlock Holmes had the idea of a mind palace. I heard the theory while my brother and I were watching the show. It all clicked. I couldn't get rid of the images, but I could _move _them. If they were organized they'd still be there and I could get to them, but they couldn't overwhelm me.

And that theory worked. But I would still have sudden attacks. It would be like a door opened in my mind and I was flooded with images. I was suffocating in them, and I couldn't tell where I was anymore, or what I was doing. I had collapsed in the mall before, when on my own, and had barely managed to take the anti-anxiety drug I had been prescribed for just that kind of situation. I had finally got my bearings and realized that no one had noticed. I could have been having a seizure and the people in that mall couldn't have cared less, being more worried about getting their shopping done.

Remembering the encounter nearly sent me into an attack, though I hadn't had one in quite a while by this point. I yanked myself out of it forcefully, just in time to notice that I had been walking for too long. I looked over my shoulder and saw the street I should have turned at a few blocks behind me.

I started to turn when I heard it, a low moan from the alleyway to my right. I took a few tentative steps forward and looked in cautiously. I noticed a large amount of blood pooled around a man wearing blue, the contrasting colors jumping out at me. I automatically took a step forward to see if I could help, but was stopped. I reached a finger up to the air in front of me and tapped the exact area I had just tried to push through. My finger rebounded off a barrier, sending beige ripples through the air. The man groaned again, causing me to shift my attention back to him. I had noticed earlier that the blue he wore was from the military uniform I had seen in the anime I'd only just abandoned.

I had assumed it was a mugged cosplayer but after seeing this 'magic barrier' I wasn't so sure. The man finally realized there was someone nearby and turned his head to face me. I had never seen this man before in my life, but he looked at me like I was an angel sent from god, his eyes filled with hope. He took a deep breath and managed to rattle out, "Help…me…"

He collapsed back down to the ground. I didn't know who he was, or what was going on, but I did know that I didn't want to be like those people from the mall, who walked by tragedy too concerned with themselves to help another human being in danger. I made my bony left hand into a fist, mindful of my class ring on the other hand; I didn't really feel like having to help that man while nursing my own broken knuckle. I thought back to my brothers' pointers on self-defense before I sent a punch flying at the barrier, orienting my wrist as I had seen my brother demonstrate to me all those months ago.

More ripples spread across the alley, these were more fierce, and I felt I was getting somewhere. I sent hit after hit, even throwing in a few kicks. Eventually, the ripples were everywhere, it looked as if the entire barrier were vibrating, then it stopped. There was no dissipation like with the previous ripples. These stopped in the middle of where they were going. Everything was completely and utterly still. Then the barrier went from clear, to pure white.

A figure of white outlined in fuzzy black formed in the space. It cocked its head at me and grinned. I had to hold back a gasp. I was right. That man had to be a real Amestrian, because this could only be the Truth, unless I'd tripped on my walk to the library and landed in a puddle of LSD. I gulped as it surveyed me, briefly questioning my sanity for what certainly wasn't the first time in my life.

"So, you dare to knock on the door? And very obnoxiously too."

Shocked and a little bit terrified I shook my head.

"I didn't mean it that way, I just want to get to that man, he's in trouble, and someone needs to help him."

I waited with bated breath as it seemed to think of a response. I thought it wasn't going to reply when suddenly,

"And you think that you are the person he needs?"

"Well, I am the only one here. "

If a god-like creature could roll its eyes, I bet that one did.

He stepped back away from the center of the barrier,

"You are only here by luck. The dimensions are weak here, leaving a hole; I'm just guarding it until it gets fixed. You say you want to pass through in order to help, what do you have to offer?"

I desperately searched my memory, positive what I was looking for was located in the 2nd-floor coat closet in my mind palace. I was right. I pulled out my cheap cell phone.

"A philosopher's stone would gain passage, right?"

"Yeeees, but you obviously don't have one."

"No, I don't, but all the stone is, is energy. Human lives condensed into a sort of portable battery for alchemists to use to fuel their transmutations. Well, here's a battery, portable energy. That works, right? Different sciences, but different dimensions. Poe-tay-toe, Poe-tah-toe and all that."

It laughed, its multitude of voices grating on my nerves, nearly sending me running for the hills, and making me doubt my conclusion. It paused for a second, the longest second in my life.

"Correct. You may pass, human."

My cell phone was grabbed by black hands and was pulled into the barrier. The barrier faded once it was touched by the cell phone. I took a step forward but paused when I heard the Truth speak again.

"But remember, there is no going back."

Those words made my blood run cold. He continued, "This rift is closing for good the moment you step through. Are you sure you're willing to give up everything for this one human you don't even know?"

I gulped, doubts surging through my mind. But I straightened my back and stepped through anyway. I would never forgive myself if I acted like those people; the ones who ignored me, who would have let me die. I wouldn't let a man die in front of me when I could change it. Besides. _This_ rift...oddly specific wording, nevermind the possibilities implicated in a _rift between dimensions_. What human being had the capability to leave that alone? A boring one with more self-preservation than curiosity, probably.

I felt the barrier slip closed behind me, and struggled not to look back. I had made my choice, no going back.

The change of scenery disoriented me, the colors morphed drastically, and I nearly sighed in frustration. I guess I'm an anime character then. Joy. My skin was itching and I desperately wished for a mirror, and maybe a hospital. What sort of havoc would that odd sort of change have on my biology, dimension traveling and perspective change and all of that? It was enough to start a headache pounding somewhere in the attic.

I brought forward the memory of the health class we went over first aid in, using the pocket knife from one of my numerous pockets to rip my red over shirt, exposing my black tank top. It was several minutes before the bandages were in place and I had deemed it was safe to move the man. He had stuttered out that his name was Kyle earlier on, and I had asked random questions through the entire process in an attempt to keep him both awake and calm. I had learned that his fiancé was at home with their 2 dogs and one cat, which in his opinion was possessed by some sort of demon.

With Kyle leaning on me we stumbled towards the street, attempting to get out of the alleyway. Probably looking like quite the pair, burly military man leaning on a tiny teenage girl.

"Hey Kyle, not to pry or anything, but how did this happen?"

"I was helping in the pursuit of the Freezer Alchemist when I was shot by one of his rouge water bullets. I barely managed to pull myself out of the way of the fight before I collapsed. Thanks for the help, miss."

My heart skipped a beat. The Freezer Alchemist was the focus of the very first episode of Brotherhood. I was at the beginning of the series, if it followed the storyline at all. But if it did, I knew what would happen. For a while at least, I had given up after the burial of Hughes left me emotionally scarred.

As I stumbled down the street with an injured soldier weighing me down near to the point of collapse it finally hit me. I was in the world of the Brotherhood. An anime, and not even the version of it I was familiar with. All I knew of _this_ one was what happened before Hughes death, and that the plotline was completely different from the one that I'd actually seen. Trying to tear myself away from worries over 'plot' and if it was even accurate I nearly laughed at the irony. Not even an hour after I swore to never watch the show again I ended up living in it.


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark in Central by the time we reached a crowd of people. The both of us were covered in sweat and my jeans were soaked in blood from kneeling in the puddles surrounding Kyle while I was bandaging him up as best as possible, which had me mentally cringing and worrying about anime bloodborne diseases. I was extremely lucky that he was a rather short man, because I was a bit on the short side and indisputably underweight, with no muscle mass whatsoever. To be honest we were mostly operating on his power and using me as a living crutch.

The both of us were dangerously close to collapse when we finally reached the crowd of people. My vision was blurring and I was seeing dark spots, flashes of purple and black. It could be because of that headache upon arrival, the strain of helping Kyle walk, or hell, this dimension could be rejecting me for all I knew. I heard one of Kyle's friends call out to us, but I couldn't comprehend the words through the pounding in my head. Someone I assumed was a medic took him off my hands, and I lost track of him. I doubted I would see him again anytime soon.

I was hunched over, with my hands on my knees attempting to catch my breath when I finally realized that someone was talking to me. I glanced up, through a curtain of hair and barely managed to keep calm. Looking at me with concern was one Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes. I took one last deep breath and asked,

"I'm sorry, what was that again?"

He laughed a little and gave me a small smile,

"I was asking what your name was, Miss."

I nodded, still trying to breathe, "Ah; makes sense I suppose. My name's Stephanie Arcaro. And you are?"

Hughes grinned, "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. That was quite something you did for Private Moriston back there."

I looked at him funny for a second before realization hit, Kyle's last name hadn't come up in our ridiculous Q&amp;A session. I shrugged,

"Meh, couldn't leave him there."

Hughes shook his head, "That's the thing, you could've. You aren't military, it wasn't any of your business, but you stopped to help. That takes kindness."

I squirmed under his gaze, uncomfortable with the assessment, and suddenly worrying for what kind of dimension I was in if this was what he thought. "Well, not really, it didn't really occur to me that I could just keep walking. It was kind of a given, guys hurt ya help him…"

There was a pause before he stuck his hand out to shake, smiling slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet someone like you Miss Arcaro."

I stared at his hand for a second before showing mine, covered in blood, and laughing slightly, "Heh, it's a pleasure to meet you too, but I wouldn't recommend human contact at the moment. You know all that 'first rule of first aid' crud. Treat all blood as if contaminated."

He nodded in agreement, "Right. We should get you cleaned up."

I shook my head vigorously, "No, no I'm fine, I'll just be on my way actually, since Private Moriston is now in more capable hands."

I turned to leave when he caught my shoulder, I looked at him and he asked, "Do you even have anywhere to stay? You don't exactly seem like you're from around here."

It hit me then, when he asked. I was alone. There was no going back. I wasn't going to see Taylor again, or taste whatever concoction Sam had invented for the night. I wasn't going to finish high school or go to college. I was stuck in a world I had very little practical information about. I had no paperwork, birth certificate or anyone who would vouch for my identity. I was technically an illegal immigrant and I had just waltzed up to the military.

With herculean willpower I resisted the impulse to face palm. "No I don't have anywhere to stay."

He grinned suddenly, "Then you can stay with me and my wife for a while! You can see our daughter Elicia! I have a picture here, isn't she just adorable! In this one she has on her mommy's hat, isn't that just so cute!"

I stared dumbly at the man. When I had seen these outbursts on the screen I had laughed at the expressions of those on the receiving end and had doubted that any real person would ever just invite people they didn't know to be around their families, especially a family man of Hughes caliber. But here I was, experiencing it.

I backed up suddenly, "No, no that's fine, I'm sure that I can find a place to stay or something, there's no need for me to inconvenience you or anything."

"Nonsense!" Hughes grabbed my shoulders, and wheeled me around, pushing me through the crowd. "It's the least we can do for helping our man like that! Please, I insist."

I glanced around at everyone, half hoping that someone would rescue me, and the other part of me was hoping that I could actually get a place to stay for the night this easily, though I suspected this might serve as a way to keep an eye on me. It was the middle of the night and I had no money that would be acceptable currency in this country, nor could it be exchanged. It was worthless paper now, cotton fiber paper, but still.

Hughes continued to talk as he forced me forward. "I have some other guests staying at the moment, but I'm sure we can hash out who sleeps where whenever we get there. I'm sure that the three of you will get along well."

While I was aware that the Elric brothers were staying with Hughes it hadn't quite hit me that I was now too. Meaning I got to meet them. The inner fangirl in me nearly went into cardiac arrest. I managed to pull myself together enough to put on the act that I DIDN'T know absolutely everything that would happen to everyone for the next while.

"Who are they?"

"Who are who?" Hughes snapped out of his monologue in confusion.

"These 'guests' that you already have staying the night? You mentioned there were guests but didn't tell me their names or anything."

"Oh, it's the Fullmetal Alchemist and his younger brother Alphonse. They're around your age, maybe 14 and 15, they're really nice kids once you get to know them. How old are you anyway? I don't know anything about you and I'm taking you home with me."

I was finally saved by a deep voice resonating from behind us.

"Taking strays home again, Hughes? I thought you already had a few tucked away for now."

We both stopped and turned to face the person who spoke. I found myself face to face (rather face to chest, he's pretty damn tall) with Colonel Roy Mustang. A computer screen cannot do this man justice. If my inner fangirl nearly had a heart attack at the thought of Fullmetal then she let out a banshee scream and died at the voice and appearance of the Colonel. I gave her a swift mental kick to get her moving again before tuning back into the conversation.

Hughes was just laughing at his friends' statement, "Oh, Roy, of course I still have them somewhere, do you think I would have let them stay anywhere else while they were still in town? And anyway this isn't just some random stray! This is the girl who rescued Private Moriston! I found out she has nowhere to stay so I was just doing the gentlemanly thing and offering her a bed for the night!"

He rolled his eyes, "Offering? From the looks of things you were abducting her-wait, did you say she rescue Moriston? What happened to him?"

All eyes were on me then. I froze for a second then summoned up every pathetic ounce of courage I had. "From what he told me he was a part of a group attempting to apprehend the Freezer Alchemist, and was hit by a stray 'ice bullet' of some sort, alchemy nonsense I can't comprehend, and got separated from his group. He stumbled around until he ended up in an alleyway. I was wandering around searching for a place to stay when I saw him. I stopped and patched him up and helped him to get here where they could care for him properly."

Through some of it I lied through my teeth, and didn't even bother trying to explain the whole 'alternate dimension you're from a TV show' thing because that wouldn't fly. When I was done with my mini monologue Mustang raised one eyebrow. "Well then, that was noble of you."

It was obvious he could tell that I was barely suppressing the urge to roll my eyes. "It's what most anyone would have done in my place."

While I knew this wasn't true I replaced 'would' with 'should' within the boundaries of my mind, so that as I said it, it would ring true-ish at least. He could tell I wasn't quite convinced and decided to press the issue. "No, really, not many people would bother to help a member of the military if there wasn't something in it for them."

This time I did roll my eyes. I couldn't help it, I might have been strangely mature even back when I was 14 years of age, but I was almost positive that teenage attitude was not leaving my personality for years to come, it ever. I avoided eye contact as I responded, "Military or not, he's a human being."

I looked over my shoulder to where the body of the rogue state alchemist was being processed. I dimly heard Mustang reply, "True."

Hughes began to drag me away once more, "I'll take her over to your temporary office in the morning so that she can add her statement to your mound of paperwork! For now we're both exhausted I'm sure, so I'll give you MY paperwork then too."

I heard a noise of disgust from somewhere behind me in response to Hughes cheerful statement. Apparently paperwork was not a good thing, who knew?

We wound our way through the streets of central, walking in silence for a while and I was finally relaxing, thinking that he had forgotten to ask his many questions about my identity. I wasn't confident in my ability to lie on the spot about where I was from, and why I was in Central. My hopes for getting away with not answering them earlier were shattered when he spoke up suddenly.

"So, Stephanie was it? How old did you say you were?"

I was tempted to answer that I hadn't said how old I was and then leaving it at that but Hughes was such a nice guy and he was giving me a place to stay… I'm almost positive he had already assumed I wasn't going to answer because when I did he jumped.

"17."

"Eh, what was that?"

"I said that I am 17 years old. In a few months I'll be 18."

"Really? But you're so tiny!" I'm not sure if he expected me to blow up like Edward usually did, but I replied with a slight affirmative head bob. He continued on, "I mean, like super tiny! I can see your bones in many places, have you been eating properly?"

It registered that he was trying to imply that I was the standard runaway, with no place to live and who hadn't been eating for a while. In a way I had run away from home, but I was in poor health for quite a while now. Well, no point in lying about it.

"I was ill recently and haven't quite recovered."

"Oh? It must've been some illness to have affected you like this."

"Severe emotional trauma compounded with various other unfavorable factors."

"That's quite a vocabulary you've got there."

"I read."

The conversation faded out, and I couldn't tell if Hughes was itching to ask about my past, or not. He seemed perfectly content to walk along in complete silence. I, however, was uncomfortable with allowing him time to stew about more questions to ask.

"So, you mentioned a daughter, Elicia, right?"

That immediately sent him into a monologue, complete with pictures about how cute and perfect his little girl was. He happily chatted away about her various adorable escapades, and I filed my mental copy of the photos into its own special album, putting it in the 3rd floor library, labeling it 'Elicia Hughes'. I made sure to make the cover pink (her favorite color apparently); even though I knew she would never see it. Details such as that organized my mind and kept order, they kept me sane.

I made comments occasionally, complimenting certain outfits or hairstyles that I saw, and Hughes was enjoying having an interactive audience for once. When we finally reached his house he hopped up the steps in excitement and flung the door open, "Honey, I'm back! And I brought another guest!"

As I stepped into the house, dread filling me at finally meeting the infamous Edward Elric, I took a deep breath. Then I stepped inside, and was immediately met with the sight of the familiar alchemist. Gold eyes surveyed me critically, and I waited with bated breath for his first words to me.

When he finally opened his mouth, what came out was, "Who the hell are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Well? Who the hell are ya, don't just stand there, say something!"

While the Fullmetal Alchemist berated me for my silence I experience my first ever anime sweat-drop. I hadn't expected there to actually be a feeling to it, but it was like a warm sponge sliding down the right side of my face, slowly, and then disappearing. Shaking off the strange new feeling and trying not to freak out a little I opened my mouth to answer him when Hughes cut in.

"This is Stephanie; she's going to be staying here until she finds a more permanent residence. There's a washroom up that hall and second room on the right. After dinner I'll look to see if we have anything for you to wear for the night, because I'm assuming you don't have anything of the sort in that bag."

My ears pricked up, I had thought this was one night deal, for until the military had my report about tonight and then was done with me. I should've known better, Hughes was too kind a man for that, unless he was thinking with his military hindbrain and just wanted to keep an eye on an unknown variable. I nodded to his question, and with a quick word of thanks I made my way to the bathroom he pointed out, using my elbow to carefully push the door open, trying to avoid getting blood everywhere. I once again used my elbow, this time to nudge on the water, and I set about the tedious task of trying to make sure I didn't look like a serial killer anymore for when I would meet with other important characters. My first impression I made on Edward Elric was shot, nothing to do about it. I had shown up on the doorstep in the middle of the night, covered in blood, and most likely looking like utter shit.

After my hands were considerably cleaner thanks to a strange yet refreshing smelling purple soap I found by the sink, I inspected my clothes. My t-shirt was probably a loss, which saddened me a bit, but I would probably end up keeping it anyway as a memoir of my past life. At the sight of the Dalek on the front of my shirt all the blood fled my face. Doctor Who. I was going to miss the first full episode featuring Capaldi's Doctor. I wouldn't ever find out what happens to Clara, or Gallifrey. Nor would I ever see what new interior the TARDIS picked. I barely resisted slamming my forehead into the mirror in front of me, feeling an anime gloom settle on my shoulders, dark and thick.

By the time I had finished washing the blood spots from the stain/water (and apparently blood) resistant sleeves of my coat the gloom had faded, dreary acceptance penetrating the air instead. I checked my hair in the mirror one last time, running my fingers through the scraggly mess I sighed, wishing I'd thought to shove an elastic ponytail holder into my bag before I left the house.

I walked back to the front room, noticing the absence of Hughes, and how Edward watched me suspiciously from his place leaned against the wall in the corner of the room. I hung my coat on a free hook by the door, pondering what I would have done if the coat had been ruined by all of the blood. Curl up and die was the most likely answer I could come up with, though dramatics aside I would probably dye the entire thing a solid color to hide the stain and allow me to keep it.

My attention was once again snapped back to the real world when I heard clanking and another familiar voice filled the room, "Brother, what's wrong? Oh, hello there miss."

I turned, filled with excitement at meeting sweet little Alphonse Elric, and then remembered he wasn't so little at this point in time. I looked straight up at the hulking suit of armor, and wondered how no one noticed that his eyes glowed red, and were obviously not originating from a solid human being within the suit. From the corner of my eye I noticed Edward looking at me wearily, as if waiting for me to faint at the sight of his little brother. I resisted an eye roll at the state alchemist and stuck out my hand for Alphonse to shake. As if anyone could be afraid of someone so sweet.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you, I'm Stephanie Arcaro."

He tentatively took my hand as if terrified that he might somehow break me, which was actually completely possible given that he had superhuman strength and I was pretty freakin' frail.

"I'm Alphonse Elric, and the rude one over there is my big brother Edward. I've never heard a name like Arcaro before, is it from another country?"

My eyes darted up to his face, well, helmet, in surprise. He caught on to that way quick, even for the super genius he was said to be. Maybe I should have come up with a false name or something. I tossed that idea out; no way would I have been able to think of an Amestrian name that didn't already belong to someone.

"Yeah, it is from another country."

I watched him warily for any sign of suspicion towards me but he immediately brightened up, interested in our conversation at a whole new level. I should have known there wouldn't be suspicion that easily from this kid. He was a kind soul. The pun nearly made me choke on my own spit as I thought this, and I fought to keep a straight face in front of him, I wasn't supposed to know he was only a soul bonded to armor, but even if he didn't know what I was thinking, laughing hysterically for no reason would probably freak the poor kid out.

Alphonse radiated excitement, "So, since your name is from a different country, does that mean that you are too?"

Edward butt in at this point, "Stop Al, she probably doesn't want to play 20 questions."

After filing away the fact that they had '20 questions' here, I spoke up, honestly just not liking how Alphonse sagged at the scolding. "I really don't mind, it gives me something to do, and a way for us to get to know one another." Edward rolled his eyes and flopped down on the couch, studiously ignoring the two of us. I turned back to Al with an eye roll of my own,

"To answer your question, Alphonse, Yes, I am from a different country."

He squirmed, and said distractedly, "Just Al is fine." And was about to launch into yet another question when a woman I recognized as Gracia Hughes popped her head in from what I assumed to be the kitchen, "I've heated up some dinner for you guys, if you'd like to eat now."

Edward jumped up, and bolted to the kitchen, leaving me and Alphonse laughing in his wake. I turned to the younger brother, "How do you put up with him?"

Al shrugged, "Practice, maybe?"

I snorted, and shook my head, making my own way to the kitchen. When I stepped inside I saw a buffet line sort of thing had been set up along the counter with bowls filled with different foods, and Edward loading up on most of it. I suppressed another eye roll, and was about to head back to the living room, appetite lost at the sight of Edward stuffing turkey down his gullet, when I bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there." I apologized to the Lt. Colonel, trying to step around him to get out of the room. He stopped me short, grabbing me by the shoulders and steering me towards to the food, "Oh, no Stephanie, we aren't having this. You already mentioned you were trying to get over that illness; I'm not having you risk your health in my house. Get some food, you need it, you're nothing but skin and bones!"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled slightly anyway, it was a bit difficult to be mad at someone trying so hard just to help me out. I grabbed a plate and piled a bit of food on. Grabbing the glass of water he handed me I headed to the room I had seen Edward enter to find that he and Gracia were already seated. Gracia wasn't eating, only nursing a cup of coffee and I guessed that she was making small talk. Both Hughes and I entered and found a place to sit, him digging in the moment his bottom hit the chair. He paused only to introduce me to his 'darling wife' and to apologize that Elicia 'her most infamous cuteness' was already in bed for the night.

I smiled slightly at Gracia, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Hughes; I'm Stephanie Arcaro." I turned behind me to see Alphonse enter the room, sitting in the seat beside me, obviously lacking food. I heard the first few syllables of a quiet question begin from him but he was unintentionally cut off.

"Call me Gracia, dear. Is it true what Maes said? That you're getting over some illness?"

She sounded worried, her inner mother shining through. I nodded, "Yeah, I was ill recently. I lost more than 50 pounds, and I was by no means heavy beforehand. But I'm better now; I just have to be smart, and not push myself too much."

Oversharing, much? I mentally berated myself, but faced with her genuine concern my tongue ran without the order running to it.

She didn't look very reassured, but before she could ask any more questions Edward piped in, "What did you have that would have caused that?" He seemed a bit interested in the conversation, actually pausing between bites to squeeze the question out.

I could see everyone was waiting for an answer, but I couldn't tell them what was actually wrong; saying 'Weeeell, I went crazy and my brain basically started eating itself' did NOT qualify as a good answer. I glanced down at my food so they wouldn't see the strange eye movement that happened while I was in my Mind Retreat, my version of a Mind Palace.

While I'm in the Mind Retreat whatever I visualize myself doing, my eyes will follow as they would if I was actually doing it, so if in my Mind retreat I was reading, my eyes would scroll left to right, as if down a page, even if there was nothing in front of me. It freaked my brother out when it happened the first time. Since then I had learned to hide my eyes when I wanted to inconspicuously look things up, like now.

I retreated to my Mind, mental me taking off running from the last room I had been in and tumbling down the stairs to the first floor library. Unlike the 3rd floor library, which was full of pictures and memorabilia, this library was filled with solid information, such as medical conditions that would lead to sudden and extreme weight loss. It was modeled a bit after the Tenth Doctors control room, which thrilled me every time I went there. I went straight for what I was looking for, going directly to the pronunciation-friendly part of the passage, and brought the info to the front of my mind where I could relay it back to the people waiting in the real world.

When I zoned back into what was actually happening around me, only a few seconds had passed. I breathed in preparing to speak when Alphonse cut me off, "No, Ed, that's not right! You shouldn't demand answers from her like that! If she feels like telling us, she'll tell us! Something so serious must have been traumatic for her; she probably doesn't want to be reminded of it!" Everyone in the room guiltily looked away, reluctantly agreeing with him.

I inwardly smiled, setting the medical book on the end table by the door to the library for easier access next time this situation happened. The way everyone behaved as if this were an anime, I was starting to realize that it was the culture here in this alternate dimension, rather than being sucked into an actual 'anime' which was just illustration layered with sound. In hindsight, it was kind of obvious. I emerged back into the world confident that I could handle everything. Then Alphonse asked another question, attempting to politely steer the conversation in a different direction.

"So, what country are you from then?"

I froze.

Shit.

There was no possible way to lie my way out of this one. I knew no countries in this dimension besides Amestris and I had already admitted I wasn't from there. I was so very screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, what country are you from then?"

I froze. Shit. There was no possible way to lie my way out of this one. I knew no countries in this dimension besides Amestris and I had already admitted I wasn't from there. I was so very screwed.

* * *

I immediately retreated to my mind, aware that I could spend more time thinking in here than would actually pass out there.

THIIINK, bitch, what's wrong with you, eh, some genius you are, can't even come up with a decent- wait. Never mind, duh.

"Oh, it's a small island; I doubt you've heard of it, very few people have. We don't really have much to offer, and we don't usually leave or associate with outsiders."

Hello, Hetalia poster in the middle of my mind retreat library. Thank you Japan, isolationist policy works perfectly for me.

"But you left it didn't you? Why?"

And damn you, observant blonde bastard.

I glanced at Edward, my mind spinning through possibilities, the moment I see him his info starts running through my head, everything that I know about him, and it clicks that he left partly to escape a small town, or so my brother said when he explained the show to me the first time. I can use that.

"I just said it was tiny with not much to offer. The real question is why I didn't leave SOONER."

After that conversation flowed for a while, no longer centered on me, and I was finally allowed to eat. Not that I ended up eating much of it anyway, I don't have much of an appetite. As I sipped my water I felt a small headache forming on the bridge of my nose and identified the cause immediately from experience. I needed caffeine. However, soda was one of the sacrifices that I made coming to this probably wasn't going to end well.

Alphonse was telling me about a ginger kitten he had found a few days ago when Hughes interjected, "Well, Stephanie, we had better hit the sack. Both of us need to be at the office pretty early. We need to get all our work involving Roy done before he heads back to Eastern at noon."

I nodded and stood, grabbing my dishes and heading to the kitchen. As I was about to wash up, purely out of habit Gracia swooped in from nowhere, "I'll take these, you just head to bed now, Maes will show you where you can sleep for the night." She smiled kindly at me and I didn't have the heart, or the energy, to argue with her. I simply nodded, and thanked her before retreating to the living room where everyone had gathered to say their final goodnights.

Alphonse turned to me, "It was nice meeting you Stephanie, and I hope that we meet again sometime."

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you leaving?"

Edward leapt into the conversation, "Yeah, we set out for Liore in the morning, we'll have to leave here early to catch the train on time. This is the last we'll see of you for a while."

I shook both of their hands, smiling at them both, "In that case, it was a pleasure meeting you both, and I hope that we can meet again sometime."

After the Elrics retreated to their shared guest bedroom Hughes showed me to a room in a corner of the house, he spoke quietly, "This is Elicia's room; Gracia has already laid out a place for you to sleep. I hope this is alright for you?"

When I nodded he continued, "This door through here is the bathroom, there are towels under the sink. I'll try to wake you early enough that you'll have time to shower."

After thanking him once again I slipped silently into the girls' room, and found the small bed of blankets on the floor. It struck me as slightly odd that they would trust me alone in the same room as their sleeping daughter so soon after meeting me, but then again, anime culture logic wasn't something I was well versed in yet. It did point more towards him being hospitable than him being suspicious of my presence and wanting to keep an eye on me. I didn't bother taking off my shoes or wrapping up in the blanket, the moment I touched the make-shift bed darkness surrounded me.

* * *

I was shaken awake before dawn and handed a small bundle of clothing. From the moment I opened my eyes I was off balance. The colors were _wrong, _the shapes were _wrong_, even the sounds were off in some way. I stumbled unsteadily into the bathroom I had been shown the night before and showered quickly, trying to shake off the disorientation. I towel dried my hair, leaving it only slightly damp, falling in a scraggly mess around my face. I used the mini hairbrush that I always kept in my bag to attempt to tame the mess, and the spare toothbrush they'd set out for me, then examined the clothes that I had been provided. I had completely ignored the black skirt that was provided for me, instead keeping my jeans, that had been scrubbed the night before and dried mostly clean. It wasn't in some protest against gender roles and the assumption of skirt wearing, it was just entirely too long to be a plausible wardrobe option. I again kept on my black camisole and replaced my Dawn of the Daleks shirt with the plain black shirt that I had been provided.

I pulled on my converse and headed towards the kitchen where I could smell something distinctly bacon-like beckoning me closer. I stuck my head in to see Gracia at the stove, wearing a ruffled pink apron. When she saw me in the doorway she smiled and handed me a plate containing eggs and bacon. I joined Hughes in the dining room, and we ate in comfortable silence.

As we dropped our dishes off in the kitchen we said goodbye to Gracia, with me thanking her for her hospitality. We both pulled on our respective trench coats and headed out into the city. We walked mostly in silence for a few minutes until it was broken by Hughes,

"So, what are your plans for the future?"

Startled by the sudden question I responded with an oh-so-intelligent "What?"

"Your plans for the future, what are you planning to do for a living. You must have thought of something when you set out for this place."

I shrugged, "I wasn't actually aiming specifically for here; I've just been traveling and just happened to end up here. It seemed like as good a place as any. As for what I'm going to do now, I have no idea. I would love to study Alchemy, but I doubt I'll have the opportunity for that. The best I can hope for is to find a job in some shop, a bookstore maybe."

I could feel his eyes on me as he weighed what he would say next.

"Have you ever considered the military?"

I glanced at him, startled, "No, I haven't seriously considered it. I figured since I was a foreigner I wouldn't be welcome in the military and I wouldn't be allowed to or something."

"Actually, it's one of the recommended options for you as an immigrant. There are several ways to earn citizenship, paying heavy taxes being one of the most popular. But there is always the option to serve 5 years in the military."

I considered it. Would I really be able to stand working for these people? Hughes or Mustang I wouldn't mind one bit, because I knew for a fact that they were good people with only the best of intentions, but if I did join the military then there would be every possibility I would end up working for an idiot of some sort, and a mean idiot at that. And even without the question of morals there was the possibility that I couldn't _take _military life. Certain physical standards were required for members of such an elite force, and I was certainly not up to those standards at the moment.

Then there was the little problem of so few women being involved in the Amestrian military, and those that I had seen on the show were decked out in skirts and heels, something that I would never consent to wear unless there was a life or death situation. I'd trip over either of them and fall to my death. As a female I could probably get away with just having a desk job, and leaving all difficult work to the men. But my pride would never allow me to sit behind a desk wearing a skirt and manning the phones while there was excitement happening outside. Plus, that was hardly going to help me keep Hughes alive. After that was the concern that I was a foreigner, recommended option or not there was no way I would have any sort of security clearance of note for several years to come, if ever.

Hughes was waiting for me to give an answer, but I wasn't sure of anything.

"Can I flip a coin or something?"

He laughed, "I suppose you could, but I wouldn't recommend leaving such an important decision up to chance."

"Hmmm, what would I be expected to do if I did join your military?"

"Well, it would depend on what branch you joined. There's the investigative branch, which I'm in, which is almost like a detective agency specialized specifically for the military. Then there are the medics, the state alchemists, and the plain soldiers who handle mostly just physical work. Obviously, there is more than that, but those are really the only ones you need to worry with at the moment."

I was guessing it was possible to be in several branches at the same time, what with Armstrong and Mustang being regular soldiers as well as state alchemists, but I knew that wasn't an option for me at the moment.

I opened my mouth to ask another question when Hughes stopped me.

"I know you have a lot of questions about it, but I don't have all the answers. When we get into the office I'll grab the information for you to look over before your official statement is taken."

I nodded, still absorbed in my thoughts. How would I fit into the military? Honestly, what could I offer, besides a good memory? Eventually, they would have Scheska for that, so I wasn't even unique in that area. True my memory was undoubtedly better, seeing as hers was only photographic, meaning only image, and I could remember sound, smell, and taste as well, but that wasn't really something that would make me useful.

I walked into a large shadow and felt a chill run down my back. I looked up and was met with the sight of a huge complex, consisting of large, impressive buildings. Central Military Command. I had arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

Tall monochrome buildings loomed over us as we entered the complex. Hughes stalked in like he owned the place, waving and grinning like a maniac at everyone in sight, while I tried to blend into his shadow. It was working better than I had originally hoped on account of the fact he had a pretty damn large shadow, being a tall man.

We were at the front desk in one of the buildings when he grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me in front of him, presenting me to the woman at the desk. She had thick brown hair, bushy in a way that instantly brought up a mental image of Hermione Granger in her first year at Hogwarts, that disaster of a mane from the first movie. Her face, however, was smooth and unblemished with a delicate smile at the sight of the rambunctious Lt. Colonel. Her eyes were dark green that made me classify her complete look as demented woodland fairy. If demented woodland fairies wore blue military uniforms.

"Gooood morning June! I need a visitors badge for one Stephanie Arcaro."

'June' leaned over the desk to get a good look at me, (curse my shortness) and smiled, although it held a slight tint of exasperation. "Did you pick another up off the streets, Hughes? You know kids aren't like kittens, you can't just keep them."

'_How many times has he done this? Picked a random teenager off the street and brought them to work with him?'_

June lowered her voice dramatically, "If you're here against your will blink twice."

I blinked once out of shock, then laughed at her antics, "It's fine, I'm just here for something that happened yesterday, I'm not quite a stray."

She looked at Hughes who was grinning innocently and gave an unconvinced, "Hmmm."

Then her attention snapped back to me as she filled out the visitors pass, asking me to spell my name for her. After she was finished she handed me a cheap, plain black lanyard with my information attached to the end. Hughes was about to continue marching into the building when she snapped an arm out to grab the back collar of his coat. His limbs flailed with an anime drama quality as he halfheartedly attempted escape.

"You know the drill, Lt. Colonel. All visitors must have their bags checked before they can proceed into any part of the building, no matter who they're with."

She dropped him in a heap to the side of her desk and turned an endearing smile my way, holding her hand out for my bag, "I'll be careful, I promise, Miss Arcaro."

I nervously tugged the bag off my shoulder, sifting through my memory to remember what was in the bag. "Just Stephanie is fine."

I gently handed over the bag, and she set it down in the cleared area, reaching in to grab whatever was on top. I was fairly certain nothing damning was inside, seeing as I kept most of that in my hidden inside coat pockets. One of the worst that I didn't want them to find was my favorite pen. While that seems like a kooky thing to 'normal people' out there, you have to understand that I am a fangirl. My 'pen' was a full size tenth doctor sonic screwdriver, with actual working light on the end. It was a black light, used to reveal the 'invisible ink' from a different pen attachment that I kept in yet another pocket.

Even if you ignored the blatant 'future-ish' tech the whole 'invisible ink' thing didn't exactly scream trustworthy.

The first thing she pulled out was my 'Dawn of the Dalek' shirt, still ripped and with dried bloodstains. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question, eyes scanning me and just then noticing the dried blood encrusted near the bottom of my jeans that hadn't quite come off with my vigorous scrubbing the night before. I shrugged at her and attempted a nonchalant air, attempted being the key word there. "Hey, shit happens."

She rolled her eyes and set it to the side whilst shooting a disapproving look at a snickering Hughes standing in the background. Next was a blue tie-dye wallet, which she opened and found nothing but spare change because I'm broke and not allowed to drive at the moment. I thanked whatever powers that be that I had forgotten my driver's license at home; it would have been a pain to explain every aspect of it. Particularly since I had been an organ donor. Doubt they had that in this time frame. Kinda creepy to explain. 'Yes, if I die it means random Joe number 42 gets my spleen and random Jane number 71 gets my lungs.' Doubt that would go over too well.

She pulled out the coins and examined them closely, she glanced up at me, "I'm sorry for being nosy, really, I've just never seen currency like this. Where is it from?"

I froze and blurted out the first name that came to mind.

"Tatooine."

I nearly face-palmed out of shame. Star Wars. I named my little, isolated, island after a planet from Star Wars. I suppose I should feel lucky I didn't say Gallifrey or some random thing from Dragon Ball Z, but Atlantis might have been a nice name. Then again they did have something resembling Greek myth seeing as Edward Elric told the story of Icarus and his wings of wax, so them knowing a legend similar to Atlantis was possible. Tatooine it is then.

She gave me a funny look at the name, and before she could ask anything Hughes butt in. "Is that the country you were talking about last night? The one where you're from?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I never did tell you much about it last night, sorry about that."

I turned back to June, "Those are from my home, I seriously doubt they're worth anything here, even if melted down. They're kind of a mishmash of different metals that only have value because the government there said so. I'm just keeping 'em around for sentimental reasons."

She nodded and started placing them back in the wallet but stopped when she reached a rather shiny dime, "What does this number mean? 2001? Is this the value or something?"

I shook my head, "No, it's a year." I could've slapped myself. I continued on quickly, "An expiration date of sorts. They were trying to phase out certain types of coins at certain times and transition to paper money. It's a pretty long-term plan."

She stared at it for a second, and I started to worry that she would read everything else on there. I resolved to melt them all into jewelry or something the first opportunity I got. They were much too troublesome. As was my runaway mouth. I understood on some level that I was in shock from everything but that as no excuse to not think things through before blurting them out. Eventually, she put it back in the wallet and set it to the side.

2 packs of gum, a journal (written in Spanish as practice for the class, thank god, my secrets remain my own), a pair of bright purple socks, some loose peppermints, a zip-lock bag of homemade fudge, an unsharpened pencil, and we had finally arrived at the last item in my bag save the little balls of lint clinging to the bottom. She pulled out the bottle of pills and checked the prescription. Or rather, tried to. She glanced at me, "What language is this?"

Italian. But I'm not telling her that. I got my prescription when I lived with my grandmother in Sicily. Meaning all information on the bottle could only be read by me here in this wacky dimension, apparently.

"It's the language of my country." Not technically a lie. I'm Italian American. "It's a small island, extremely isolated." Slight lie. Island yes if we're talking about where my grandmother lives, small, not really, isolated, hell no.

She opened the bottle, having no trouble with the child-proof lid and I had to resist the urge to pout. I almost always had issues with it. Idiotic thing nearly cost me my life before.

"And apparently, it's very advanced when it comes to medicine. I went to school to be a nurse, but I dropped out, fear of needles, ya know. I've never seen something like this."

I shrugged, "I couldn't tell ya much, I'm not a doctor."

"What's this for anyway? Because if its diet pills I'm gunna strangle you, I swear."

I laughed a bit, "No, it's for an illness I'm working to recover from."

Hughes suddenly spoke up and I jumped slightly, not expecting him to join the conversation.

"This illness of yours, you mentioned it last night, I don't mean to be intrusive but is it deadly without the right treatment?"

The questioned seemed random; it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I had up to 13 different responses for possible questions. This one not being one of them. I'm ashamed to say that I was once again shocked honest.

"Possibly."

"Possibly?" the deep voice resonating from behind me caused me to jump once more. I turned to face a questioning Roy Mustang.

I withheld a fangirl squeal at the sight of him. Some may scold and say get a grip, you've seen him before, but those people just don't understand. This man is Fine.

Hughes dragged my attention back to the conversation at hand while June packed up my things in the background. "Why would you travel away from where there's treatment for you when you know you have a potentially deadly illness?"

"And drag out the time by doing nothing and sitting in a white room being careful not to break myself? No thank you, boredom would kill me first. Besides prolonging my life isn't really my greatest concern."

Hughes looked utterly confused, "Why wouldn't it be? Do you have a death wish or something?"

I shook my head, "Of course not, but I want to LIVE, not SURVIVE. Some people live more in 5 years then others do in 20, it's not the time that matters, it's the person." I felt proud of myself that I had managed to slip a Doctor Who quote into a normal conversation on these unsuspecting Amestrians.

"Besides, this 'illness' of mine is pretty much gone, now it's just the long and slow road of recovery. All I have to worry about at this point in time is mind over matter. If I let myself fall back into it again I will, but it's possible to just wing it and power through."

I grabbed my bag back from June, and turned to the two military officers, "So, where to now?"

Mustang gestured silently for us to follow him, seemingly still mulling over what I had said. But then again, he could be thinking about whatever he was gunna have for breakfast, that's also entirely possible. Hughes and I fell into step behind him, silently navigating the corridors. I geared myself up to answer all questions about why exactly I was in Amestris, praying that I didn't end this day in a cell because of my runaway mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

I ducked as a combat boot clad foot soared over my head, wondering exactly how this situation had gone from tea time with the military to trying to keep all my limbs attached. Thinking back, I was almost positive that it was that Bastard Mustang's fault.

He led us down the twisting corridors of Central HQ and opened the door to his office, ushering us in before him. When the door clanked closed behind me I tried extremely hard not to equate the sound with finality, but failed miserably. He walked behind his desk and sank into his seat with a small sigh, gesturing to the two couches facing one another in front of him.

For the next twenty minutes there had been inane conversation interspersed with semi-serious conversation over what I planned to do now that I was in Amestris, and no real questions as of yet on HOW I got into the country or where any legal documents were regarding my entrance. This deteriorated into random conversation over my journey here. We had just broached the subject over what I was going to do with myself now that I WAS in the country when the door slammed open and none other than the Fuehrer Bradley flanked by two men in blue uniform marched in.

Him swanking in and also inquiring about my plans left me at somewhat of a loss. WHY he would inquire about me was also confusing, seeing as I was a random, tiny, insignificant person. And he gave me a creepy vibe, rather than the grandfatherly one I had been expecting. He wasn't a good guy in the other anime, but Taylor had confided in me that Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Greed were the only homunculi that stayed the same across the board, so there was that which I could lean on. I then informed them of what I saw as my only two options. The civilian life in Central paying the military tax to earn citizenship, or the military route. The moment I mentioned the military route the guard to the Fuehrer's left lunged for me. In the few seconds it took for him to come near me I slipped into my Mind Retreat and grabbed onto any and all memories I had on martial arts and gymnastics tossing them into the forefront of my mind. I used what little upper body strength I had left over from my short stint in marching band (don't judge) to break the fall when I dived off the edge of the couch and rolled to a kneeling position facing him, where I could easily avoid or attack. Granted most of the moves I had rolling around in my head came from watching Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Naruto and would most likely be unusable for me but there were a few self-defense moves I knew from my brother, that I could (in theory) use against this guy.

I had no illusions about winning this fight. I was weak from long-term depression and malnourished, with only working knowledge of martial arts and next to no recent experience. A slight obsession with Naruto in the past led me to take a few martial arts classes, but I hadn't continued when my health declined. But I sure as hell was gunna at _least _attempt to muscle memory this shit. The door was out of reach and the window was blocked, so escape wasn't an option.

All that brings me back to rolling on the floor again to avoid that offending foot. Mustang wasn't moving, and didn't look surprised at the attack on a small teenage girl in his office, and wasn't interfering, most likely meaning he was in on it. Hughes, however, was being held back by the other of the Fuhrers guards. So whatever this was, they hadn't had time to inform Hughes of it. The fact that Mustang knew meant they had taken time to plan it out, leaving an uneasy feeling in my gut that I had to ignore for the sake of staying in one piece for the next few minutes. I noted the set of the man's stance and predicted that he would swing wide, leaving an opening.

When he swung into the punch I gently redirected it with my left hand on his wrist, it was simple to use my smaller size to slip in and jab my right elbow sharply into his solar plexus, spinning around and jabbing my left fist firmly into his stomach, using my left foot to stomp on the tarsal bone in his foot whilst pushing off away from him. Sometimes it pays to have a thinking process quicker than most humans.

I used the mental image of the body's map of pressure points, doing lightning fast calculations and matching it up mentally with the man before me. I wasn't capable of the force necessary for those types of hits to put him down on the ground, but I was able to make him pause and wince, allowing me to get back out of range and into a little breathing room.

He took a step towards me and I slipped a foot behind me in a halfhearted martial arts ready stance, coming up with over 40 ways to redirect his next attack or dodge around and get the hell out of here. However before he could take another step Bradley raised a hand, a smile still on his face.

"Sorry about that Miss, but we set up this little test before you got here."

I watched warily as the man who attacked me relaxed completely and gave me a grin before going back to his place beside the Fuhrer, along with the man who had been restraining Hughes. Hughes brushed off his rumpled uniform before glancing back up at Bradley.

"Test?"

Mustang spoke up, "Due to the only real options available to Miss Arcaro we thought it best to run a few simple tests for if military life would be doable for her."

I raised an eyebrow at him, slightly unimpressed, and from his slightly uncomfortable aura, he could tell.

"So did I 'pass' or whatever? What was the particular point of that test? What were the others?"

Bradley answered for the Colonel. "I would say you did very well on that last test. The point was only for reflexes, and to see if you could at least dodge or comprehend that you were under attack. However, you took it a step further and attacked right back. It would seem you already have a rudimentary knowledge of combat. However, we'll have to work on your bodily strength. You are a bit on the tiny side."

I suppressed the strong urge to sweat drop at the tiny comment because this was coming from the man that passed the Fullmetal Alchemist.

He continued, "The other tests were simple and inconsequential at the moment, slipped into the conversation by our dear Colonel and testing your intellect."

I shot Mustang a confused look, but Hughes face lit up in comprehension and he pointed at the Colonel accusingly. "Is that why I couldn't follow half of the conversation?"

I furrowed my brow in thought, thinking back to the conversation. There hadn't been anything that difficult, just some political theory, a bit of geo-sciences, and some mentions of foreign cultures I had 'encountered in my travels' which I bullshited from history class- oh. I'm a stupid genius. Most people my age, or at all based on Hughes reaction, wouldn't have that shit fluttering around in the front of their brains. This time, I really did sweat drop. None of it had been specifics of this country that I wouldn't have known but Hughes would have, just generalizations that tested the waters in many different areas.

Bradley chuckled at my expression, "Relax Miss Arcaro, after all, you have secured a place in boot camp."

I paled rapidly, "Eh, say-what-now?"

"Boot camp, I'm going to throw you in with the rest of the new recruits and you're either going to build up some muscle or drop out for civilian life. If you can't handle it Miss, then you can always drop out at the weekly check in with your assigned officer."

Oh, no, he did NOT just emphasize the Miss in that sentence. I'll show that sexist bastard- wait, that was his intention. Damn.

Bradley: 2

Me: Zippo, at the moment.

"And who might my assigned officer be?"

Bradley motioned his head at the Colonel, "Unfortunately our dear Mustang has to return back to his post at East headquarters, so the only one left with the appropriate connection to you is Lt. Colonel Hughes. He will be checking up on you during evening mess every Wednesday."

At a sudden signal from Bradley his two henchmen each grabbed onto one of my arms, one handing my bag to Hughes, and then steering me out of the room. "We're going to get you a physical and then off you'll go!"

He cheerfully led the way out and I looked over my shoulder at the shocked Hughes and resigned looking Mustang, "Look after my coat, would ya? Sentiment and all that, all I have left of my brother."

When I got a nod from Hughes I looked forward and stopped dragging my heels, walking with the men instead.

At least this solved my issue of how to get close enough to change things. If Hughes was my assigned officer I would most likely end up in his unit afterward because he had such a close handle on my training.

On the downside, I now had to go through a hellish stay in military boot camp. Then there was the real motive behind allowing me to join, I'd been admitting to my horrible health left and right because it's not something to be kept to myself. If I'm going to be around these people for a while like Hughes had implied they needed to know in case shit went sideways. So I had a million mysteries on my hands and the gates of metaphorical hell open before me. Joy. There had better be freaking soda in this mess hall they mentioned.


	7. Chapter 7

I lazily poked the thing on my tray that the staff of the mess hall insisted was food. I could have sworn that it was staring back at me in all of its sludgy glory. I glanced up at Maes who was looking at it with equal trepidation, turning slightly pale when it continued to giggle for several long seconds after it was touched. He commented absentmindedly, "Does science even allow for that?"

I looked back at the sludge apathetically, "Nope."

He shivered, "All right, with that out of the way, how are you doing?"

It was the 5th Wednesday meeting, though he hadn't made every Wednesday, and I was the farthest I had been from quitting. That first Wednesday had been killer. Maes had barely walked in the door of the mess hall and I was hanging from his back like a demented koala bear, begging him to smuggle in some caffeine for me. He had promptly shrugged me off into a chair and slid an old fashioned bottle of soda onto the table. He was halfway through asking if I needed help opening the top when there was a soft 'pop' and suddenly half of it was gone. Apparently, my thought about soda in the mess hall was spoken out loud and remembered by the considerate Lt. Colonel. I had been worried about finding a fix for my addiction because of the cultural differences between Amestris and America, but the term soda still came from the sodium salts in carbonated water. Lucky me.

I looked up at Hughes, trying to read his expression. The first few weeks he'd had trouble leaving me behind in this place. That first meeting, after the whole soda incident he finally got a good look at me. I was even skinnier than when he had first seen me, a frightening sight to behold. Every part of me hurt in ways I didn't know was possible and the food was _looking _at me. When I told him the last part he had lightened up a little, but still kept asking if I was sure I wished to stay. When he asked why I would just shrug, and change the subject. The real reason was my sanity. I hadn't had anything close to an attack while in the boot camp. There was no time to slip too deep into my mind; I had to focus all of my energy completely on survival.

By meeting five I no longer hurt all the time, and had put on a little bit of muscle. Not enough to look strange on my small form, but enough to keep me alive in the exercises. I was built like a gymnast, and still had too little weight for 'lady problems' to even think of tripping me up every month. All in all, I was doing pretty well. Not to mention I was kicking ass in the theory work. When they said we were moving the afternoon exercises into the classroom the training unit I was in had been split down the middle in reactions. Half were horrified at going back to 'school' and the rest were thrilled to be getting away with the torture of the physical workouts. When our first test was the day after the material was introduced I knew that this was going to be mainly to test dedication. They wanted to see who would get the material, work their ass off until nightfall and then study until lights out.

I'm pretty sure I blew the instructors minds with my perfect scores in every test. When it came time to move on to weaponry any sort of rifle was ruled out because most of them were bigger than me. I was decent at most handguns, but I was certainly no Hawkeye. Putting it together and taking it apart again was no problem, because once again, memorization. Overall my scores were okay.

I grinned at Hughes, "I'm alright, I think. It's getting bit boring now, there's nothing really new being introduced lately." He rolled his eyes.

"That's probably because it's your last week; they're winding down, and smoothing out those last few quirks, I doubt they have anything new left to teach."

I looked up from my tray, eyes wide, "It's the last week?"

He nodded, looking a bit amused, "Yeah, Friday I'll be back to pick you up and take you to your new apartment on base, if you decide to stay that is. After you drop off your stuff we'll go through the paperwork for everything, and find a place for you."

Only another day and half until freedom, well, sort of.

* * *

By the time Friday rolled around I was bouncing around the place like some sort of pixie on crack. I was waiting by the main door to the training compound, an officer sitting at his desk nearby, waiting to sign out anyone qualified to leave. I had a small military issue bag that included two sets of uniforms (complete with pants, I had the option to refuse the skirt apparently), toiletries, and the paperwork to apply for a weapon. I would have to get a military ID number before I could turn those in.

I scanned again for Hughes and finally spotted him, I tried to run towards him only to be intercepted by the officer. "Not quite yet missy, we have to get you signed out first before you can leave."

I scowled, but nodded, waiting impatiently for him and Hughes to finish their customary greetings and then the required paperwork. After what seemed like an eternity Hughes was leading me out of the building and to another one on what seemed like the other side of the compound. It was a grueling walk, and normally I would have been huffing and puffing and terrorizing pigs in stick houses, but after a rough month of military training, I was feeling pretty good. Better than I had felt in a while actually.

My apartment was on the 3rd floor, in the east section of the main headquarters compound, with a tiny bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen/living room. I wasn't complaining, though, especially when I saw my bag from home on the small couch, accompanied my carefully folded jacket, pockets undisturbed. I could probably thank modern quality for that, the inside pockets most likely wouldn't even be found unless you knew where they were already.

We sat down at the small table in the kitchen/living room and he spread the paperwork in front of me.

"Normally new recruits aren't given anything more substantial than grunt work for the grunts, but according to your test scores in certain areas, I'm willing to bend things a little. I've had you assigned to my unit in investigations. I hope you can handle long hours and little sleep."

I almost couldn't believe my luck. I got where I needed to be, with minimal effort. Of course, I had gone a little above and beyond for any bit of work that could be tied into the investigative branch, so maybe I had skewed my chances in my favor. A little.

With a signature and my ID handed to me as well as a small amount of cash for food and other such necessities, which I assume was training pay, I was left to acquaint myself with my new home. I decided to put off the shopping for food a bit, and instead enjoyed my first HOT shower in a long while. After dressing my once again military issue sweat pants and undershirt I resolved to buy some casual clothing and drifted to sleep.

* * *

A few weeks into my new life and I had been faced with almost every criminal investigation imaginable, from fraud to drugs, with a murder here and there. Hughes didn't really question my ability to keep every file in his office meticulously in place, but worshiped it whenever paperwork seemed to be breeding and he could just hand it to me to fix the problem. I knew quite a few people around the base and the staff in the main cafeteria knew my routine well enough that they could hand me what I wanted without me saying a word.

Hughes wasn't joking about long hours and little sleep. If I hadn't had a caffeine dependency before I would have developed one quickly. On top of the ridiculous case load we had I had taken it upon myself to stay fit, even after leaving boot camp. I ran at the track every morning around dawn, switching up the theme of the day, between how long I could go and how fast I could make a certain number of loops around. My small size made for ridiculous speed, which I was grateful for, because I was positive my future would be full of running away from the conflict to leave room for the real fighters to do their jobs.

My nights, when not filled with endless streams of paperwork, were dedicated to finding whatever I could in the state library that had to do with alchemy. I even went so far as to locate Doctor Marco's books and give them a read through. However I was by far no alchemist and couldn't spot the code for the life of me, so I left it alone. First starting out I had been terrified of alchemy for several reasons. One being that something would wrong and I would accidentally kill myself with it, and another being that it simply wouldn't work because of the fact that I wasn't originally from this dimension.

My first transmutation had put one of those fears to rest. My slightly demented statue of Batman had come out looking more like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I began planning ruthlessly for Hughes death, centering any theory I had to save him on alchemy, and doing small-scale experiments to test the likeliness of their success. It took me 3 weeks to finally come across a plan I liked that didn't seem overtly stupid at first or even second glance, and I began slowly gathering the supplies needed for the real thing, taking the money out of my food budget and cutting back a little on luxuries like dinner that I didn't quite need for survival. While some bits of it bordered the lines of human transmutation I took heart at the fact that I wasn't touching human souls, so technically I was clear.

I was getting close to ready, really close, when it happened. I was sitting in my desk, in an the corner of Hughes office calmly going through photos of a dismembered woman for the wrap-up of a cold case when Hughes swept in, grabbing his gun from his desk, as well as several other items and stashing them in his trench coat.

"Come on Steph, Roy's got some troubling brewing at Eastern command, we have an express military cargo train waiting for our team and a few others going for other reasons, we should be there before sundown." I looked out the window behind his desk at the dark sky, not even showing a hint of the sun rising yet and sighed, but grabbed all of my gear anyway. I pulled on my own trench coat and added my handgun to the holster, and grabbing my bag from home. It was still my everyday bag, carrying everything I would need for anything from a murder case to a shopping trip.

"What kind of trouble, boss?"

At the first mention of the nickname 'boss' a few weeks ago Hughes had protested venomously. I had only been making a reference to NCIS Special Agent Gibbs, but if it bothered him that badly I was gunna keep it, because I'm a little shit like that.

He had stopped rolling his eyes by now, it was slightly disappointing.

"Fullmetal trouble, with a side of insane bio-state alchemist."

Tucker. Alexander. Nina. Hughes death was getting close and I was running out of time. I ran after Hughes, determined not to let him out of my sight, even if his death was a ways off. By the time we were on the train to Easter command I was over the shock of the progression of events, and attempting to prepare myself for the crime scene ahead of me.

Dead men- handled.

Dead women- ew, and hitting a bit close to home, I am female myself after all.

Dead children- no one can really stomach that.

I leaned my head against the window attempting to catch some sleep; I hadn't been home yet from the night before and was desperately in need of some shut eye. The murder scene would still be there when I woke up. Unfortunately. As well as the guilt and insidious whispers in my mind that told me I should have done something about this, despite the lack of resources or solid timeline.


	8. Chapter 8

I was shaken awake after what seemed like moments. I glared blearily up at Hughes, who was wearing an unusually somber expression.

"We're almost there, gather your gear."

I sighed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and standing to give a cat-like stretch. My back gave several sickening pops, followed soon after by the joints of my ankles, knees, elbows, and shoulders. I was just cracking my neck when Hughes walked back into the compartment.

"Getting your game on already?"

I scowled lightly, but didn't comment. He had long since picked up on the fact that I wasn't taking a situation seriously until I went through my little routine of loosening all of my joints like that. Some old discrepancy in calcium intake when I was a child ended with the frequent popping and catching. If I cracked them ahead of time they'd move easier. Because of that I had taken to cracking all of them before seriously tackling a case.

Hughes thought it was just a way to switch frames of mind, but in reality it was to keep my limbs from seizing up and not moving at an important (or embarrassing) time. I was already full of illness and weakness, and there was no reason to give him another. It was already a miracle I'd passed the physical anyway.

By the time we had reached the city our debriefing was complete. Five of us were there from Centrals investigative department to complete the investigation. All of us were reluctant to see the 'evidence.' A young girl, his own daughter.

While I had known it was coming that didn't mean that I still wasn't shocked. Some part of me had stupidly hoped that my Intel was wrong, that maybe the anime had been slightly inaccurate in some areas. The guiltier part, the part I'm ashamed to have, was glad that it was right. It meant that my other information was right as well. I quickly shoved that part down, punching her in the face, shoving her in a disused closet somewhere in my mind retreat, locking the door, and putting the imaginary key into my imaginary blender.

* * *

Our arrival at the crime scene showed it already cordoned off; with sheets covering two lumps on the ground that smelled sickeningly like burned human flesh. I was familiar with the smell from my last encounter with it, a week long investigation into an arson case that turned out to be an electrical fire. Accident or no accident, the woman was still roasted. At that thought I zoned out a little, staring at the plastic, when had I gotten so morbid? I wasn't exactly all sunshine, daisies, and kittens before, but this was ridiculous. Maybe that was the screwed up military mindset of this weird-ass made up country. I'd been infected.

I shivered at the thought and went to pull up the yellow tape to walk through but found it already held high over my head. My eyes followed it to the pale hand holding it in place and found Colonel Mustang looking at me, a slightly concerned expression on his face.

"Are you alright Sergeant Arcaro?" Confusion reigned for a second, before I remembered that I had just been standing in front of a crime scene, staring at the cadavers, and I had only just joined this shitshow recently. He thought I was getting all squeamish like a rookie. Sadly, I had acclimated a while ago.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it; a superior officer (and main freakin' character) was waiting patiently for my answer. "Yeah, I'm fine, just got lost in my thoughts. Sorry sir; won't let it happen again."

He examined me for a long moment before nodding and motioning me ahead with his free hand, but I noticed he didn't seem too convinced. I strode forward, carefully avoiding the pools of blood, per my CSI training (yes they have that here, no I don't mean the show) and made my way to where I had seen Hughes disappear. I was just stepping into the room when I felt a large hand close on the upper part of my left arm, attempting to pull me back before I stepped through. They weren't quick enough, because I caught sight of the gruesome mess on the floor that used to be Nina and Alexander. I wasn't supposed to know that however, so I played dumb, turning to Mustang, who had attempted to spare me the mangled spectacle.

"What happened here? I thought we were here to investigate illegal alchemy, not several brutal murders!"

Mustang looked over my shoulder for a second and made a motion with his hand, then turned me around and lead the way into the room. The body of Ni-the Chimera (if I think of it as a child one more time I'm going to faint or puke) was now covered with a plastic sheet like the bodies outside. Mustang made his way over to Hughes and I followed. Hughes looked up, and asked the same thing I did.

"What happened here?"

Mustang didn't remove his eyes from the tarp at his feet. "They were attacked. The guards outside, Tucker, and his daughter, all combusted from the inside." Hughes' eyes widened.

"You mean like the Alchemist killers MO?"

Mustang nodded, not moving. When a second passed in silence I decided to get the plot moving, hoping to save a certain blonde a few broken limbs.

"Where are the Elrics?"

They both turned to look at me, uncomprehending. I rolled my eyes, allowing a small bit of urgency to coat my tone.

"The Fullmetal alchemist? Running around alone with his little brother when a dangerous serial killer known for targeting state alchemists is suspected to be in town?"

The color visibly drained from the already pale Colonel, and Hughes understood a half second later, his own face following suit. Mustang practically ran out of the room, barking out orders. Hughes and I followed behind, jumping into the vehicle we had arrived in, and setting out to help search for the brothers. It didn't take long for us to find them; frankly we just followed the sound of explosions. Any hope I held for us arriving earlier than in the anime due to my intervention was crushed. They were well into their confrontation already. As we screeched to a stop Mustang was already set up to fire upon Scar. Hawkeye swept his feet out from under him as we approached, and I drew my weapon. I saw Armstrong from the corner of my eye and wondered how I had missed him before. He came here from Central, meaning we should have been somewhere on the same train. I dismissed the thought for later, instead focusing on the serial killer in front of us.

I didn't bother attempting a shot; I knew that if Hawkeye could barely graze him after a lifetime of sharpshooting I wouldn't stand a chance, I had never so much as finished off my first box of bullets yet. It was thrilling, yet terrifying, with all of the alchemy flying around. I hesitantly stepped up next to the other soldiers, raising my weapon, preparing to back up Armstrong, at least holding the weapon at the ready so I didn't feel as useless as I actually was. Before I could even complete the action Hughes pulled me back with him, hiding slightly behind the car.

I gave him a sour look but stayed where I was. It proceeded exactly as it was supposed to, but it was much more exciting (read as terrifying) in person. I made yet another mental note to create some sort of jewelry with an alchemic array of some sort so that I wouldn't get caught completely off guard and unarmed by someone as dangerous as these people. I wasn't the best at alchemy, but even something was better than nothing.

Hughes popped up as normal, going on about not joining a fight of mutants. I rolled my eyes, looking over to where Edward was getting patched up so he could make it to the hospital for a formal checkup. I then looked at the hole in the ground where Scar had disappeared. I hadn't noticed that my gun was still in my hand, hanging at my side with my hands still trembling slightly from what I assumed was after-adrenaline weakness, until glove covered hands softly relieved me of the weapon. I looked up, finally tuning into the conversation, to notice the two officers were looking at me with something akin to worry. I blinked slowly, "I'm sorry did you say something?"

Mustang sighed, still holding my gun, "I asked if you were alright. When was the last time you've eaten? You're still looking as thin as when I last saw you."

I grimaced, "Am not."

He looked me in the eye and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't answer my question, when did you last eat?"

I looked to Hughes for help, but he was as stern as Mustang. I tried to appeal to him anyway. "What does it matter when I last ate, there are more important things going on."

Hughes grabbed my shoulders, looking into my eyes, "It matters because you're trembling, and you don't get frightened from this kind of violence, just look at your day job. You're tiny, but with nerves of steel, and it's our jobs to worry about our subordinates, so excuse us for worrying about your health. When did you eat?"

I glanced at the grey sky, thinking back, "Err, I had lunch on Wednesday."

Hughes deadpanned, "it's Saturday."

I shrugged, "I was planning to eat dinner when I got home, but Stevens handed off the requisition forms to me, so I was still there when you came in and said to get on the train."

"You didn't go home?"

"It happens."

Hughes groaned, dragging both hands down his face. "Come on then, I'll take you with the Elrics and get you something at the hospital while I take their statements. You need to take better care of yourself, the military can be extremely hard on the body, and you have to be ready for the strain of something like this."

I rolled my eyes but copied him as he saluted Mustang and we were dismissed. As we were walking away I heard Mustang make one last parting remark, "No skirt, Arcaro?"

I rolled my eyes as Hughes snickered, glancing back over my shoulder to give him a halfhearted glare, his deep laugh floating behind us as we made our way to the car.

It was a lighthearted moment, I didn't feel like ruining it by explaining that it wasn't about taking care of myself, or even about that past 'illness'. Now sometimes I wanted to eat, wasn't stopped by those old feelings of nausea. But now I was in a foreign country impossibly far from home in a culture that sometimes made zero sense. The food had an off quality to it, sometimes things just aren't the same here. But Hughes doesn't need to know that, doesn't need to know this isn't absentmindedness, but rather homesickness. Let him think this is something he can fix.


	9. Chapter 9

I resigned myself to hospital food, but consoled myself with the fact that at least they had chicken soup. It wasn't the best I had ever had, and it possesed that tinge of 'wrong' to it like every other food here, but I managed to choke it down. The entire time I was examining my journal. Not my personal journal, that stays at home encoded and in spanish to boot. This was my 'plot journal'. It was also encoded extremely thoroughly. I made up my own language, using memories of images of old high Gallifreyan as a starting point, and ending with the perfect 'eternity code'. Thank you, Artemis Fowl.

Initially I had been nervous about the likeness to transmutation circles but as I learned more about alchemy I realized they weren't very much alike at all. People might look at me funny but they only thought I was dabbling in science. In the end it worked out better than I ever could have hoped. Any time I needed to sketch an actual transmutation circle but didn't want an alchemist to be able to look at it and tell what I was up to I would simply write it out in Russian letters that would correspond to the English stroke that would make a certain line in the Gallifreyan version, giving me a transmutation noted down in word form with everyone but me none the wiser. They would have to sift through at least two different layers of code.

I thought about encoding the Russian letters inside some kind of Russian poetry but figured I would save that idea for later, right now I didn't have that kind of time to bother translating and encoding like that. Not with MD-Day so close. I had taken to calling it that. Maes death day. It made me nervous to even think about but I used my newly found military backbone and shoved my worries elsewhere while I worked on a solution.

I was popping open my 3rd soda in the past hour when I sensed someone looking over my shoulder. I calmly continued with the simple circle for 'and' trying to tie up my paragraph so I could get back to Hughes. It's not like it'd mean anything to them. The deep voice that resonated from behind me startled me, nearly causing me to spill my soda. Instinct saved my precious drink and I barely caught it as Roy continued speaking.

"What are working on? Those circles are just nonsense, they'd never actually accomplish anything."

I glanced up at him then away again. Those dark eyes are seriously unfair. "I don't expect them to accomplish anything. They're just pretty little doodles. The real stuff is hidden among them." I flipped the pages over to a page that I had marked with a small doodle of an animal in the corner, this time a penguin. The animal doodles were signals that the page was useless and not actually a part of anything. Those pages had simple circles that I had come up with and that actually worked. A few didn't but came close and I had notes on them in Russian out to the side. It could be explained to allies that these were the real research hidden inside nonsense. And it was real research. Just not the kind I was focused on at the moment.

I handed him the journal, pointing to the animal. "Taylor here means that the page has actual stuff on it."

He looked it over with an Alchemist's critical eye. "That's actually kind of genius. Hiding the useful ones inside nonsense and then coding the words all the way through to avoid suspicion." He blinked suddenly and then took a closer look at the letters. For a second I thought he was reading it and started having a mini-heart attack but he looked up and asked in astonishment, "Is this Drachman?!"

I looked at him cluelessly. "Drachman? Never heard of it. My Aunt Liz taught me this."

Which was true. She had done a bit of Russian ballet in her mid-teens, and had made sure that both Taylor and I spoke at least enough to not get hopelessly lost when she took us on trips to visit her friends there. Me being me I ended up learning quite a bit more than that.

He gave me an appraising look, as if suddenly completely reevaluating my worth. I did my military best not to fidget uncomfortably under his gaze. He snapped the book closed, eyes never leaving my face. "Are you fluent in the language that goes with those letters, or is it just letter to letter replacement?" I started for a second, on edge that he had accidently guessed the way part of my journal was coded. It looked like I would have to look into that poem thing sooner than I thought.

"I'm fluent, reading, writing, speaking, the whole package. Liz liked to use it to leave notes around the house and to tell us things in public, to keep nosy people out of our business."

Also true. Liz was Queen Paranoid Worry-Wort if ever there was one.

He looked at me for a second longer before handing my journal back and abruptly changing the subject. "Hughes wanted to see you, I came to fetch you for him."

I raised my eyebrows at him while sticking the journal into one of my many inside coat pockets. "A lofty Colonel fetching things for his subordinates? Oh, what would command say?" My mocking tone forced a surprised laugh out of him, before he rolled his eyes and motioned for the door. I held up a single finger and grabbed two more bottles of pop, flashed my military ID so it could be added on to my meal tab, and shoved them into my bag. I grabbed the one I had open and then headed for the door. "Alright, now we can leave."

I didn't look over my shoulder at him, too busy thinking about why Hughes couldn't have come to get me himself. I worried for a second but mentally scolded myself. He had been fine when I last saw him and most likely still was.

My mental question was answered when Mustang cleared his throat awkwardly and I glanced up at him to see he was watching the ceiling as we walked.

"So...how are you adjusting to military life so far?"

It wasn't the oddest of questions, but the way he forced it out set off a red flag or two.

"Just fine, thanks. Did Hughes put you up to this?"  
He deflated almost instantly,

"Yes. He seems to think that since it's my fault you're in this at all because of my 'conspiring with Bradley'."

"...well to be fair, he has a point."

He groaned and I rolled my eyes, continuing,

"But I likely would have ended up here anyway if I could have managed it. What I really didn't understand were the tests, surely that's not how it's done here with every prospective recruit?"

There was only silence for a few moments and we turned down two hallways before he answered.

"Not exactly. He said he had a 'feeling' about you, Bradley I mean. Hughes insists it means you're destined for greatness or something."

I nearly fell on my face, scowling.

"So it's the eccentric whim of an old guy that got me a job despite possible severe past and future health issues, is that it?"

He snorted before looking around to make sure no one heard the undignified noise coming from him,

"I wouldn't phrase it like that, but essentially, yes."

I was still scowling when he was stopped by someone or another and sent me ahead, I headed back to the Elrics room by memory trying to ignore the implications of the conversation I'd just had. As I approached I heard the low murmur of voices from inside. I knocked on the door frame before I stepped inside, eyes locking on Hughes once they found him. I noted that all conversation stopped once I announced my presence and filed the fact away for later. "The Colonel said you needed me?"

He nodded, "We're leaving soon. We're handing jurisdiction back over the local department now that we have no live witnesses to return to central, nor an alchemist to put on trial." We carefully pretended to not notice how the Elrics had stiffened at the mention of the Tuckers. "Once I'm finished here we'll head back to the station and then head home."

I was sent back outside while they finished hashing out their plans for the Elrics, trying not to laugh at the fact that I already knew most of what was being said anyway. The two brothers would be heading back to Resembool to get Ed's automail fixed, and would run into Marco. I had already made sure that Scheska had read the notes by turning them in to her station after trying to decode them myself. I did my best not to tremble at the thought of how close it was to the secret of the stone and the death of Hughes. It was getting close to showtime and I had yet to write all of the lines for every part.


	10. Chapter 10

My plans were finalized. It was the day before I was going to actually prepare for the final transmutation, the most dangerous one. The one that I was sure was going to go right but had so many places that it could go wrong. There was little I could do about it though, I had run calculations, done small test runs, and everything was as ready as it could ever be.

I had stolen a peek at Hughes medical records weeks before the Ni-no, the Chimera incident and had done some ingenious (if I do say so myself) alchemy that copied it onto papers that I took with me. They were the key to part of the success of this venture. The other was how to convince a Homunculus to look the other way for about 12 seconds while I put part of my plan into action. THAT was still mostly ongoing, although what I'd written in my journal to make my plans 'complete' was 'wing-it, bitch'. Not my brightest moment.

My pen was hovering over that particular part of circle and I was close to striking it out and trying again when a hand descended on my shoulder. I jerked my head up, my eyes meeting Hughes, and he smiled sadly. I panicked for a second, half expecting he knew what I was writing about, but then he spoke,

"You've been here since dawn yesterday, it's almost noon. Go home, go to sleep, and for God's sake, eat something. Alchemy and the military will still be here when you get back."

I nodded, relief stretching through me. It would be nice to sleep, if my brain would let me. The case load the past week had been particularly difficult to wade through, and one of them was a cold case for the ages. A closed room mystery that would baffle future generations, just like it did me. I had looked through the evidence, the scene, any and all viable witness statements, and when Hughes asked my opinion on what had happened my answer had ended up being,

"Fuck if I know."

My report had been worded slightly different of course.

Stretching out my stiff muscles, I rose from my seat, not bothering to move anything around, it had all been sorted before I brought out my notebook. Truthfully all of my paperwork was done, I could plan and theorize from home. This plan was shot to shit when Maes snatched the journal from where I was attempting to stuff it in my bag.

"Ah, ah, ah. Can't have you working through the night again anyway, Sergeant. I don't want you working on anything, you hear me?"

With a salute, and a bit of grumbling I was out the door, doing my best not to freak out over the lost journal. I knew all of the important stuff by heart obviously, and that wasn't my only copy of the most needed circles, plus it was secure as hell, but my pocket felt empty without it. It was like I was a mother whose child was staying the night at Grandma's, you knew they were safe, you have some peace and quiet with them gone, but still, they weren't in _sight_…

These thoughts disappeared when I noticed Major Armstrong coming my way. He was a very intense person, which tended to scare people away, but underneath it all he was sweet and kind, and that was enough for me to like him. That mustache though...I had a journal of assassination plans for people I didn't like with a whole chapter just for that stupid mustache. They only thing stopping me was his obvious love for it. If there was ever a split second of hesitation from him over it, the thing was gone.

I stepped to the side and saluted, as per etiquette but he stopped and greeted me. Nothing too unusual about that but what _was _unusual was how totally serious he was being when he asked me to accompany him somewhere. I didn't hesitate to follow him. Knowing from the show, and then in person, lead me to trust him more than others. If someone were to be sent to lead me to a dark corner to be shot it wouldn't be the Major.

Our destination turned out to be an office filled with more tech than I had ever seen so far in the entirety of Amestris. It didn't hold a candle to all the crap in a modern American home, or even the average Modern American teenage bedroom, but it was a shittone of stuff for this place. I gazed around in wonder at the stuff, filing away the era some of it came from back in my world, and filtering through what I knew of it, trying my best to move away from anything I knew came afterward. If I slipped and did something too amazing and future-y then they would stick me with technology for the rest of my life and I could kiss Intelligence goodbye.

An officer I didn't know was standing in the middle of the room looking at the tech. When he acknowledged my presence we went through the whole salute routine, then he turned to Armstrong to have him explain. He obligingly motioned to the screen, and what was unmistakably the recording of a phone call.

"Colonel Mustang mentioned in passing that you have some mastery of Drachman that you learned in your home country. We were hoping that you could use this magnificent skill passed down through your family to translate some worrying interactions made by one of the officers."

I remembered that Mustang mistook Russian for this 'Drachman' stuff, so I just gave a mental shrug and with a "What the hell, why not."

I put on the earphones and accepted the pen and paper they handed me, transcribing the conversation with no difficulty. Huh, apparently 'Drachma' was this place's version of Russia. I handed the paper to the man who had identified himself as Lieutenant General Raven. He was one of the few dark skinned people that I had seen, apart from the Ishbalan, Scar, and had white hair, and a light grayish beard. He seemed friendly enough, but that gleam in his eye as he observed the paper made me re-think it. But I was again re-thinking my suspicion once he turned back to me, I was unsure if the look had even been there in the first place.

Thus, I ended up in yet another dreary office, this time translating written Drachman transmissions. I was hoping that I would actually get home and actually get to sleep, but I should have known that was unlikely. I was going to have to begin my plan to save Maes whenever I got home next, with little to no time for sleep. Edward and Alphonse could be back any day now, and the burning of the library could already be occurring for all I know. I didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of stopping Lust from destroying the building but I had memorized all texts that I had found that could possibly be useful and would be almost impossible to find anywhere else. In a moment of weakness I had checked out a couple of Hughes favorites a few days ago, so that they would escape the destruction completely. They were sitting safely at home beside my bed which is where I wished I could be…

It was with this daydream of sleep that the man himself appeared before me. He gave me a stern look,

"What are you doing? I gave you an express order to eat something, go home, and sleep!"

I mustered enough energy to give a halfhearted wave at Raven, who had noticed the intrusion and stalked our way.

"Ah, Lt. Colonel. I borrowed your man for the day, I hope you don't mind. She has an invaluable skill that we were desperately in need of."

Hughes watched me struggle to write in a straight line, inwardly cursing the Amestrians who didn't use lined paper, the bastards…

"Lieutenant General, the Sergeant hasn't slept or eaten in days. I had just given direct orders for her to go home."

"Which I overruled...I apologize for the mix-up, I didn't know about the standing orders. Sergeant?"

At the acknowledgment of my presence, I looked up, blinking like an owl in the light that haloed him.

"Go home, you've done plenty here. If anything pressing comes up, we'll find you again. For now, great job, get some rest. You deserve it."

The praise was warming but dulled slightly by the ache in my bones, and the throbbing pain behind my eyes.

Leaving the office was mostly a blur, so was getting home, but I made sure to close and lock the door, all too aware of the dangers of being one of the few females on base. I eyed the bathroom, and debated taking a shower, but gravity suddenly shifted from pulling towards the center of the Earth to pulling directly to the bed. I managed to kick off my boots and pull off the uniform jacket before falling into bed, promising myself a warm shower and good food as soon as morning rolled around. Something hit me like lightning, and I shot straight up in the dark. Armstrong. He was traveling with the Elrics, but he was at the office with Raven. The Elrics hadn't returned. Envy was in central already. The homunculi were here.

Elsewhere in the city a certain Blonde was stepping off the train to be met with his new guards, and terrible news.


	11. Chapter 11

Piles of notes were scattered all over the room, forgotten in the tide of work, tossed aside by a golden haired hurricane. By my side I heard Hughes whistle, sounding almost impressed with the complete and utter chaos before him. I looked from the room, to him, then back the room.

"_I'm _not cleanin' it up."

Maes chuckled slightly before stepping into the room and trying to gain the brothers attention. "

Yo! How's progress going, you guys?"

Edward waved a hand at us distractedly, pulling a book from the bottom of a pile and only barely avoiding being squished by the rest of them when Ross rushed to right the cascade. She attempted a respectful salute, all while trying to save the eldest Elric from an untimely demise via literature. Maes spoke with the poor bodyguards while I made my way over to Alphonse, who was less absorbed in the work than his brother. He looked up as I approached, waving slightly,

"Stephanie! How has the military been treating you? We didn't really get to talk much last time we saw one another."

I could sense the approaching gloom that always appeared when anyone mentioned the Tuckers, and quickly moved to intercept it.

"I've been alright. Occupied is the word I suppose. Drowning might be appropriate too, now that I think of it. How have you guys been? Making any progress on this stuff?"

Wrong move. The gloom was back,

"Not much progress. Marcoh coded his notes very well. I'm starting to think we might never get my- um that is, never find what we're looking for."

The correction confused me, until I recalled that I wasn't supposed to know what the brothers were looking for, or what had happened in their pasts. I simply smiled at him confidently,

"Oh, you'll find whatever it is. The both of you have enough intelligence and dedication for ten men."

I don't know how, but it seemed like the armour managed to convey a grin. I looked around at the mess,

"I'd offer to help but honestly my knowledge of Alchemy isn't where I wish, and from the looks of this it doesn't even fall into my niche."

This stirred what seemed like even more interest than he'd had for my foreign origins.

"You know Alchemy?"

I shrugged, not sure if it would be wise to admit to much at this stage, so close to my goal.

"I dabble. It started as pure curiosity, we don't have real alchemy where I'm from. It's myth, legend, fantasy, a fairy tale. Rulers of ancient dynasties drinking Mercury because they thought it was the key to eternal life. The irony in THAT almost hurts."

Al laughed, then jumped up, as if struck by something.

"Um, excuse me for a second, I need to talk to my brother about something."

He rushed off and I glanced at the pages he had been holding, trying to see what he'd found, but the code remained solidly out of my reach. I heard muffled grumbling from Ed about the disturbance, then only muffled whispers about whatever it was Al wanted to talk to him about. It was a full three minutes before Al returned, this time with Edward in tow. That caught the attention of Hughes, who wandered over to where we were gathered. Al nervously fiddled with a book in his hands for a second before he spoke,

"Stephanie, can I ask you a question about your country?"

I looked at him for a second before shrugging, confident that I had enough answers prepared to handle what he threw at me.

"Sure, fire away."

_Fire away, fire away_

_Ricochet, you take your aim_

_Fire away, fire away_

I slammed the mental door closed, now was not the time, random song lyrics.

He seemed to glance at his brother, who hesitated before nodding slightly.

"What do your people have to say about the philosophers stone?"

I never once expected them to ask me about that. Now that I think of it, I should have. It makes sense to ask people about the different legends in different places, especially somewhere as far away as my 'country'. It also warmed my heart slightly, that they trusted me enough to ask me about their ultimate goal. Then again they could just be that desperate.

I seriously considered the question for a second before answering.

"Well, there are many legends about a stone, be it the Philosophers stone, the sorcerer's stone, or the elixir of life. I've come across a few with theories that said the stone can turn base metals into gold or silver, heal any ailment, bring dead crops back to abundance. Some say that it can only be created when one has achieved true understanding of all geometric knowledge, and others say that it is not created by human hand like homunculi but that it is compressed in the center of colliding stars and pieces of one may fall to the Earth every other millennia or so. I don't put much stock in those legends though. After all, they are just legend. Sorry I can't be much help."

Edward was thinking hard about what I had said and I hoped dearly that I had not lead them away from the correct path. I had no idea what that could do to the plot, or their lives. I needn't have worried. He shrugged it off,

"Yeah, you're right, they're just legends. The falling star thing isn't something I had considered before but it doesn't really seem feasible."

I nodded absently,

" 'Specially since its not the actual stars that are falling."

He looked at me funny,

"Huh? course it is, it's in the name."

I stared at him for a second. Surely alchemy hadn't taken over these peoples minds to the point that they neglected astronomy? Some transmutations required alignment to certain stars and other such things. As a fan of Doctor Who I couldn't imagine not having at least rudimentary knowledge of the stars.

I swallowed, trying to get my bearings from that brief shock.

"No, it's actually pieces of rock called meteors that hit the planets' atmosphere and burn up, leaving that trail of light. Anything that actually survives enough to impact is then called a meteorite. Sometimes they contain rare ores but mostly they're just space rock. Star are giant burning balls of gas, just like the sun, only much much much further away."

He put down the papers he had been looking at,

"Where did you hear that?"

Hear it? Not _learn _it? He didn't freakin' believe me?!

"It was taught in school in my country. There were also various publications on the subject, and extensive government supported research. It was something of a hobby of mine to study while I was ill and couldn't move around much, I sent my brother to the library to get books for me every other day."

He sat on the table facing me, unconvinced.

"And where did those people get their information?"

I rolled my eyes,

"Look, there were telescopes involved and a few pictures taken. Believe me or not but either way it doesn't help with this code thing."

It was his turn to nod absently as he shuffled through the papers on the table beside him. "I've heard of some complicated codes before, but never one as complex as yours. Do you think you could have a quick look at this?"

He handed me a page and I took it, glancing at it and realizing it was page 57 of the third cookbook in the series. I had actually kept this recipe on the off chance that I would actually have the time to cook something.

"When did you see my code? I don't remember showing it to you and I certainly didn't leave it anywhere that you could have picked it up."

He shrugged,

"Colonel Bastard mentioned it to me while I was in the hospital after you left. He said that it made no sense whatsoever to him, and that you looped it through two different languages."

I internally smirked, Three actually, one that I created on my own, but ya know, who's counting?

I made a show of looking over the page, analyzing each word and the placement of it on the page, but got about as far as I did the first time I took a look at. Nowhere. I sighed, and handed it back to him,

"Sorry Edward, but I have no clue what this could be other than an intriguing recipe for cookies."

It was much later when the silence had become oppressive and Maes had yet to move to leave and I felt a crushing need to break the aura of brain-pain hovering over the brothers.

"Ya know, I think I actually have that recipe at home. I probably read this cookbook before and never even realized that it was alchemy research."

Edward nodded distractedly and I felt slightly guilty for breaking his concentration but realized it must not have been that great in the first place it he responded at all. Usually he was completely in his own world when researching.

"I know, there was record of you checking it out before. I had wondered about that, you don't exactly seem to be the cooking type."

I glared halfheartedly.

"If I had more time I would cook more. I used to like it, but now its not really worth it and I think take-out might own my soul by now."

He cackled a bit at that and then froze, muttering under his breath,

"Soul…"

He ruffled through the pages and the more he found and put together the more that he swore. I tucked some of the words away for future reference as the breakdown from the anime happened full force. Armstrong was around somewhere, I wasn't sure when he had arrived. I wasn't sure what was really happening around me for the most part. I had to slip into my mind palace many times just to maintain my grip on reality. I needed sleep, and badly. I couldn't remember the last time I slept properly. Now really wasn't a good time for my brain to allow itself to finally shut down. I mumbled something garbled about needing to lie down and everyone gave me a sympathetic look, thinking I was taking the 'key to the stone' hard.

I struggled out of my military jacket, revealing my black under armor type shirt. I tugged my gun holster off my belt, setting it to the side, found a dark corner of the room, and lay down on the floor, not bothering to try clearing a place on the couch or search for a pillow. I was out seconds after I registered that despite the off-putting color the carpet didn't stink as badly as I had feared.

* * *

I woke to Sergeant Ross shaking me violently, blubbering out about the Elrics escape and the Lab by the prison. I noticed someone had placed my jacket over me like a blanket and I pulled it on quickly, fingers barely fumbling the buttons, I was better rested than I had been for weeks. Ross was still talking, mentioning how the higher ups were going to kill them for letting the Elrics escape, and how Maes had left me because of how tired I looked. I did quick inventory, and after reclaiming my gun from where I'd abandoned it earlier I took a quick bathroom break that wouldn't exist if this were actually an anime, rather than anime quality-ish. THAT was when I set out to find the Elrics. It would be best if I could keep Edward from getting hurt, and I would love to save Al from the pain of doubting his own existence.

I gave quick orders to call Maes, and the brought up my mental map of central. I wasn't as far away as I had assumed. I took off at a run, because who knew how much time I had lost because of sleeping through their escape.


	12. Chapter 12

I stared blankly at the wall in front of me, knowing that I had no giant armored brother to give me a leg up, nor automail to move any barbed wire with. I could hear the shouting from Al's fight with Barry on the other side of the stone barrier, and decided that the time for stealth was gone. Ed could be fighting Envy and who knew what the 'butterfly effect a la Stephanie' had done with the situation. Whipping out a piece of chalk I had only just taken to carrying around with me I sketched out a well-practiced circle. line-line-curve-line-careful-volatile It formed near effortlessly and I worried for a second at how easily explosives came to me. This circle was just like Scars, an abrupt stop at the deconstruction phase of transmutation resulting in a violent reaction, only I funneled it through stone in this case, rather than human tissue.

I slammed a hand on the stone, taking a second to stare in awe at the blue lightning-like light that leapt from my creation, not quite used to it yet. For someone who grew up reading Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and Eragon this was closer to magic than I had ever dreamed I would get. It sent a thrill of excitement through me, and put a slightly maniacal grin on my face. I ran through the smoke,drawing my weapon and ducking low from habit, surveying the situation in front of me. Both Al and Barry had stopped to see what the explosion was all about. I took aim at Barry, glancing over at Al,

"Is everything all right here Alphonse? Where's your brother?"

Barry looked on in confusion, most likely wondering who the hell I was as Alphonse hesitated to answer and I wanted to swear violently. Barry had already sprouted his crap about Al not being real. After a second Al pointed toward the building,

"He went through the vent, I have everything covered here, go help brother."

Wariness surged through me, not quite sure I should leave Al alone with the other armors poisonous words. Al decided for me,

"Go! Barry says that the others are much worse than him."

I looked at the glowing red of his eye holes and nodded,

"Be careful Al, I better see you in one piece when this is all over with."

That said, I turned and started sketching the circle lines-and-curves-and-more-oomph-the-stone-is-deeper-here fire bloomed at the heart of the circle as my fingers grazed it, exploding inward, taking out a section of the wall. I had been careful, not wanting to take the entire building down, yet. From here I had no idea where Edward was, all the anime had shown was a journey through the vents which I had bypassed in favor of speed. I had paused at three diverging hallways, uncertain where to go when I heard footsteps. I ducked down a bit and inside a door, using the reflection of the glass in the door across the hall to see Envy and Lust walking past the opening to hallway number 3, speaking to one another in lowered voices. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I wasn't particularly worried about it. There was dust everywhere, either just plain dirt or left behind from disuse of certain corridors. They left tracks through it, very distinctive tracks, a pair of heels right next to flats. I waited and followed them, slowly, being sure to look around corners carefully and make sure that I didn't run into them.

When I had finally made it to the large room where Edward was Lust had already making her move against helmet guys brother. It was watching those nails ruthlessly cleave apart a human soul that made me realize that I could die here. They didn't care who I was, they wouldn't see me as a 'sacrifice' or whatever. I was a nuisance. I might end up as collateral in this fight that wouldn't have killed Ed even if I _hadn't _interfered.

I pushed the fear aside, trying to embrace the military mindset they had tried to sell in bootcamp. Good thing I did too, Lust was speaking, low sultry tones falling through the air in a way that radiated danger.

"Perhaps our dear sacrifice here is getting to be too much of a problem, perhaps we should just...solve...it."

She brought her fingers up in the prime position to spear Edward and I snapped into action, firing one shot, cleanly through the back of her head. She jerked and fell over, I pointed my weapon at Envy, who had turned to look at me, edging my way around quickly so that I was standing beside Edward.

"Are you alright, Ed? What kind of alchemy was freaky nails over there using for that trick?"

I played my cards carefully, aware of my role as clueless soldier, not supposed to know anything barring the stone's inhumane (_oh god terrible pun I'm-so-sorry_) ingredients, and the fact that the brothers were looking for it. Come to think of it, the brothers didn't know much about it either at this point. Unless the ripples caused by my arrival went further than I had anticipated. Who knew what they had said to him in the window before I had arrived when they were alone with him.

Edward stared at me blankly,

"Stephanie? What are you doing here?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, not wanting to leave Envy unwatched for even that long. A bullet probably wouldn't kill him but it could sure as hell slow him down while he 'rebooted' or whatever.

"Edward, Ross woke me up hysterical over you boys running somewhere the Lieutenant Colonel had deemed dangerous, as the lowest ranking officer and your friend I ran straight here. Literally, I can't drive in this country, so be grateful, and give me a sit-rep."

"...I have no idea what's going on or who these people are."

I resisted the urge to face-palm, but felt the anime-style sweatdrop fall anyway. I sighed, repositioning my weapon slightly and cocking my head to the side, not looking away from Envy for a second, Why is he looking at me like that? Curiosity can't be good coming from him, from what Taylor said about him he should be all 'Puny Human you know not what you deal with' by now…

"Please tell me you at least found what you came here for?"

"Ummm, no. She killed him before he could tell me."

"Him? All I saw her stab was a piece of metal."

He shook his head viciously,

"I'll explain later, but-"

Envy twitched and I shot over his shoulder in warning, regretting having to waste bullets but knowing its what I would do if he were a normal human.

"Not recommended palm-tree boy. How about YOU explain what's going on here?"

I cranked up the intensity of my glare when he just stared dumbly at me for a few seconds. That had no visible effect until he began walking towards me. My gun was aimed at his forehead, but I wasn't able to pull the trigger. Violet eyes stared through me, and I worried at what he saw. I had never shot someone face to face like this when not purely in self-defense. This was feeling cold blooded, and I couldn't quite force myself to do it. My hands wanted to shake but I held them steady through sheer force of will as he stalked closer, still jolting slightly when he spoke, scratchy voice ringing through the silence.

"What have we here? Little girl playing soldier? You have a strange feeling about you, something I've never felt before and I've been around a loooooong time."

I squinted at him for a second,

"Um are you trying to flirt or something? Because it's reeeeaaallly not working. You may be doing it wrong."

He scowled, "Of course not, girl. I'm merely wondering what you are."

I raised an eyebrow, "Female."

Which is more than I could say for Envy. No one really knew what 'it' was. I just kinda see him as male. I think. I try not to think about it too hard, actually. The other anime dictated male, let's go with that.

There was a crackle of alchemy lightning behind me and I jerked, looking at Lust, who was finally reforming. I did my best not to drop my weapon in shock. Seeing it on screen, and knowing that it was possible in theory is light years away from seeing it in person. it was a gory sight that would have had me puking my guts out before the whole 'military boot camp' debacle. I backed up closer to Ed,

"Okay, this is uncool on so many levels...and slightly cool on others. But I SHOT you! You should not be standing up!"

She smiled grimly at me, walking in a half circle around us, examining me up and down, but ignoring what I said.

"You were right Envy. There is something different about her. But it's not of consequence. Leave her. Get the pipsqueak out, I'll see about her, and the lab."

Just like that I was pushed out of their minds. Ignored. That pissed me off.

But anger faded and was replaced by fear. They were going to kill me. Explode the building, after leaving me nothing but a corpse, an empty shell of everything I used to be, still inside it. I didn't even need to be here in the first place, but I had come, and now I was going to die. My legs shook slightly and I could barely hear Ed ranting about being called a pipsqueak over the pounding of my own heart. I was frozen in place, but Lust was advancing towards me. I heard Edward fall behind me. Envy carried Edward off, probably to drop him right in front of the military, just like in the show. _I was going to die._

Lust approached closer, smiling seductively. _I am going to die._ She walked closer still, holding her fingers up, lengthening them slowly. I staggered back, barely finding my legs long enough to manage a few steps before I faltered again. My breathing was spotty, I was seeing two things at once. The words, all my wonderful words that I had been storing for my entire life were flashing before me, and around me, I looked desperately for something to save me. _I am going to die._ Lust must have seen my eyes darting around because her smile became a smirk.

"There's no escape for you girl. I almost pity you, dying so young, but you're not even that pretty, so I suppose that it isn't too tragic then."

Her hand raised, pointing at me, and my life flashed before my eyes. Literally. My little talent let me look at every last one of my loves ones before I met my end. I was apologizing to Hughes image before me when one of her ultimate spears met my gut.


	13. Chapter 13

_I'm a failure. A complete and utter failure at life._

_The rain fell gently, but I found myself wishing for it to pound down hard, painfully so. Anything to distract from everything that was happening. Roy, standing stoically beside me, Elysia, her cries echoing around the graveyard, the stupidly itchy sling that bound my arm, and the scene before me. The coffin lowering into the ground. The last scene of this place that I had viewed through a screen from a different world. I took a deep breath, bowing my head, just praying that it would be over soon. My eyes closed and the last few days played back against my will._

* * *

Lust left me there, bleeding out, to be on her way in order to blow up the lab. That's what she assumed. She was mistaken, but how was she to know that 7 years ago in an alternate world I had studied up on the components of Kevlar bullet proof vests? And that I had made an alchemy project out of synthesizing some? And then made it my personal mission to use this new magic/science art to make it thinner, lighter, and more durable?

However her 'Ultimate Spears' were indeed ultimate. She used only enough force to burrow halfway through me, in theory, so she did indeed get past my 'armor'. Barely. I had a glorified scratch, but I played dead, and waited for her to leave the room. I either waited too long, dreading her sudden return, or she was faster than I had assumed. I wasn't all the way out when the explosion through me into the street. I saw blue uniforms heading my way through the haze of pain and smoke. I dragged a breath in, setting off a coughing fit that made my vision swim. Some of the blue uniforms reached me, one of them tried to sit me up, but they didn't even check where I was injured. Strong hands grasped at my right arm. My scream only stopped when I lost consciousness.

* * *

When I finally woke I was in the hospital. Once I realized where I was I struggled to sit up. The twinge in my right arm when I tried to use it to push myself up told me something was cracked, but not quite broken. I sucked in air, trying to keep the stop the world from spinning. I screwed my eyes closed, breathing deeply, saying the Gringotts poem under my breath, trying to get my head straight. I switched languages for variety, and eventually felt that I wouldn't immediately throw up if I moved. I opened my eyes, only to be met with Hughes stare. Well, I have some explaining to do. I opened my mouth to explain what had happened but he held his hand up. He closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

"There's no need to explain yourself, Edward and Alphonse already gave me the rundown before they left."

I tried to look sheepish, but dropped it once what he said finally made it through my head.

"Left? They've left?! How long was I out?"

He looked at me, worried now,

"Only two days. Edward wasn't nearly as bad off as you were, he said you got there right in time. He and Al have headed off to Resembool early today to get his automail fixed, then they're off to see their teacher."

This morning. He left this morning. That means today was D-day. I had to get out of this hospital, I was behind schedule because I was an idiot who just had to follow the boys into danger when I knew that they would be okay. True Edward was better off than he had been originally, but still...it wouldn't be worth it if it cost Hughes his life.

I nodded, then turned and threw my feet over the side of the bed, gently but expertly unhooking the IV. Hughes reached out to stop me but I kept going.

"What are you doing?!"

I glanced up at him briefly, but kept going, swiftly and easily putting the equipment away or disposing of it as was needed. I plopped a bandage on the needle mark on my arm, it had kittens on it and I tried not to roll my eyes. This was a military hospital, and they have kitten bandaids stored in the hospital rooms…

"I'm leaving. There's investigating to be done, I'm not going to sit here all uselessly. I'm perfectly fine, anyway. No need to stay in the hospital. Besides, I don't like hospitals. Something about the smell. Disinfectant mixed with despair, I think."

I swayed slightly, and he gently pushed me back onto the bed.

"Relax, the investigation won't up and disappear while you're recovering."

I took a deep breath to argue, but I could feel it in the air. I was going to loose.

Hughes left the hospital without me, and I waited approximately a half hour before I signed myself out. Hughes hadn't 'ordered' me not to leave. So it was technically alright. I may have bribed the woman at the front desk with juicy gossip I picked up a few weeks ago so that she wouldn't tattle to Hughes on me.

I acted like I was going home to rest, rather than straight back to work, just in case she told him that I left anyway. I ignored the meds they prescribed, not wanting the fog on my thoughts, not today. I wore the sling until I was home, then took it off, despite the pain and decreased movement. There was no way that I could get ready in time using only one arm. One and a technical half, maybe.

I closed my black-out curtains, bought for this very reason. I was going to be throwing around some serious alchemy, I didn't' need anyone to see the light and wonder what was going on. I gathered my materials, checked my notes, and began. By the time night fell I was finished. I wrapped my project up in a dark colored tarp, packed my other stuff, and gave my usual coat a longing look. I turned instead to a dark shaded one, of a similar but not identical style. My normal clothing being my uniform I had changed into dark pants, and a dark shirt. Not true black, more dark grey. Black wouldn't fit into all shadows, but would rather stand out.

Under the cover of darkness, in that small margin of time between when the sun went down and the street lights were turned on I made my escape with my tools. I had found the place that matched Hughes murders scene perfectly. I was just stashing my stuff, going to see if he was approaching yet when I heard the shot. I felt the blood draining from my face and my lungs froze for a split second and then I was running. Slipping as quietly and quickly as I could through the shadows to the phone booth. I saw Envy fleeing, wearing Ross's face, Hughes laying on the floor of the phone booth.

* * *

I was brought back to the present by a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into Roy's face, still remembering his voice coming through the abandoned phone.

"Come on Sergeant. We have some paperwork to do."

He led me away from the grave, and I finally noticed that everyone had left, probably a long time ago. I finally dragged my eyes from the headstone and back to him, looking odd with his hair slicked back like that.

"...paperwork?"

He nodded, opening the back passenger side door of the car for me.

"Yes, the paperwork. I have to get you transferred to my team somehow. Hughes would never forgive me if I left his favorite subordinate to just float around in a mess of bureaucracy."

"...your team?" I asked, bewildered.

I could almost hear the eyeroll as Hawkeye shifted the car into drive.

"Yes, Arcaro. My team. Unless you don't want to investigate what's going on with our military? I would understand, you aren't exactly a citizen, you don't owe any loyalty to our people so-"

"No."

"Oh?"

"I don't owe the people any loyalty, honestly the only people I know are military, I'm not familiar with many citizens. But Hughes has my loyalty. Him, his wife, his daughter. I won't fight for your citizens, don't delude yourself. But I will fight for the Hughes family."

I saw his head tilt, and I just knew he was smirking.

"I wouldn't' have it any other way."


	14. Chapter 14

They were still blaming Ross. I was the first on the scene, and I reported seeing alchemic light around the one who had killed Hughes, but I said that the shadows were tricky, and I didn't know who it was. Ross was arrested. Things were moving quickly, too quickly, I could barely keep up.

Mustang had questioned me about what had happened, I had given the truth, partly. I was taking a walk, enjoying my ill gotten freedom from the hospital, when I heard a shot, and rushed to the scene. Everyone tread lightly around me, like they expected me to break. But they didn't know. They didn't know what really happened, and I couldn't tell them. I had realized a while ago, and tried my best to think of a way around it. If Hughes was dead in the show, then he would be dead here.

He had died for a reason, he couldn't pass on the information and Roy had to kill Lust in his rage. At least that's what my brother had told me at one point, long ago. So for all intents and purposes, for a plot device, my only friend was dead.

* * *

I collapsed on my knees beside Hughes, hands tentatively reaching for him.

"Lt. Colonel?"

My voice was timid, I was scared. Scared that I had failed, not only in my judgment earlier, but in my main mission. I was already a failure, but I had hoped that didn't mean that I had completely lost in the end. I touched his shoulder gently, trying to push back tears, and the oddest thing happened, he wheezed in a breath and tried to sit up. I froze, and he started to speak.

"Damn, Arcaro, I guess you were right, happy? Wearing your experimental body armor _is _a good idea. I think it's saved two lives in as many days."

My eyes darted to his wound, his hand was covering it, but it slowly moved away. He unbuttoned his shirt, swiftly, revealing his undershirt, a hole punched through it, with the gleam of metal still lodged in the armor underneath. I sat back on my heels, breathing deeply, and laughed. I didn't stop until Hughes touched my shoulder, concerned. At that I was reminded what I was doing. I looked him straight in the eye and spoke, more serious than I'm sure he had ever seen me. "Do you trust me?"

It was a loaded question. I was content to give him time to-

"Of course!"

I started, "That was quick."

He shrugged, eyeing me seriously.

"There's corruption in the military, I know you're aware of it, I've noticed your reaction to certain things during the course of investigations. You know something's happening, and you know it's not yet time to act. I also know that you're foreign, so you're basically untouchable to these people unless they can find this mysterious country of yours. There's no way they've corrupted you in the time that you've been here."

I looked at him blankly, then shook the thoughts away. We need to move. Anyone could have heard those shots.

"Well, I need you to exercise that trust. Run. Don't be seen. Don't talk to anyone. Don't go home. They think you're dead, keep it that way. Here's how to contact me. I may not always be in, but you can leave a message."

I handed him a slip of paper,

"This is a secure line, I should know, I built it myself. It's piggybacking off the civilian grid, so no military hacking, but I added some...personal touches to the wiring, so it couldn't be tracked." I handed him a bag,

"Don't ask how I knew, don't ask what else I know. There are some secrets that just shouldn't be told. Hide. I'll take care of things now. By tomorrow, everyone will believe that you died here."

He looked desperately like he wanted to argue, he probably didn't want to leave his family, the family man that he is. He opened his mouth to argue, but I shook my head.

"Go. Believe me, if you were 'alive' to the world, then there would be nothing stopping that thing from coming back again."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe.

"The Fuhrer, he's involved, he might be one of them!"

Shit, Taylor said that the only sins the same were-oh. Obviously it was a different sin. What the shit, Taylor?

"I know." Well, I didn't know that I knew, but I know now.

He looked at me startled.

"How!?"

I just gazed back at him, smiling sadly.

"My people were centuries more advanced than yours"

Technically true, and I could use the mystery behind that enigmatic statement to get his ass in gear.

"Were. You said were. They're gone. You didn't leave by choice."

I shook my head, surprised he picked all that up from one word.

"They're gone, true, but I did leave by choice, to save a life. Now there's nothing left for me but the here and now. So if you would kindly get your ass in gear and run for your life I would greatly appreciate it. And don't ask any more questions. Ha. Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. I don't like to lie, I have never truly strictly _lied _to you, and I won't start now. Lies are the cancer of the soul, they eat away at it and leave destruction behind."

Quoting another world calmed me, and probably added to the enigmatic image. Or just proved to him what a lunatic I was, I was honestly feeling a bit unstable at the moment, adrenaline from the close call warring with the injuries I had been ignoring. We stared at one another until finally he looked away and sighed.

"I'll be in touch with you I suppose. Thank you, for this."

I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath at his retreating back.

"Don't thank me yet."

From there I moved quickly, crouching down on the pavement, etching in a gentle chalk circle, easy to wash away once I'm done. circles-lines-my-own-creation-proud-of-this and then I clapped my hands. I knew it wasn't required to activate a circle, but there was finality to it, and it centered my mind. Lightning flew, and then darkness surrounded me. There were shadows now, but they were my shadows. I bent the light around this area so I wouldn't be seen. I knew there was some homunculus who could control darkness and spy through the shadows, but I also knew how to keep it away. As I went about my now hidden business I thanked God for my brother, who doesn't give a damn about spoilers, and gives character run downs, and gives away plot devices. True it would have been better if he had been more thorough, or even obvious so that I wasn't _still_ finding hidden meaning in references, but beggars can't be choosers.

* * *

The paper with Ross' face on it shook in my hands. My hair covered my eyes. Hiding me from sight. I was in civilian clothing, still technically off-duty. Black skinny jeans, black under armor shirt that was standard for under military uniforms, and my boots. My jeans I had to transmute, but there was no way in hell I was wearing this 1910's crap. It didn't feel _right_, and it made me uncomfortable, constantly distracting me. I put the paper down carefully, contemplating life as a whole.

For me it was pretty straight forward. Keep this world from the terrible fate it was destined for. But Maria Ross was still a victim. I had no idea what happened to her in the original timeline. But I knew that there was no way that I could _prove _that it wasn't her. My job had changed on me, my entire unit was disbanded with the death of our superior officer, I was snatched up by Roy and his people. I don't know how, and I wasn't about to ask. I knew they already had a guy with encyclopedic knowledge and near perfect recall, so I didn't bother revealing what I could do. It wasn't something I liked to bandy about in any case. Not even Hughes knew. I'm sure he had an idea that there was something up with my brain and my thought processes, but he didn't _know_.

I was lost in thought, wondering for a bit that after all of this mess, (if I survived) what I was going to do with my life. I already knew there was no way home. I probably wouldn't want to stay in the military forever, but then again maybe I did. I knew Roy wanted to be Fuhrer. Maybe I could help with that. I honestly had nowhere else to be, and I quite liked working investigations. It was all very NCIS-ish. I was trying to decide if I should get a cat in 4 years when the door to the office burst open. It was Edward. Shit.

I ducked my head down, waiting for the shouting match between him and Roy to finish. It was all very distressing. Al stood solemnly in the background. I sighed, and stood.

"This is going to take a while. Does anyone want coffee?"

The soldiers shook their heads, only glancing away from the entertaining fight happening in front of them. I turned to Al,

"Alphonse?"

He started, I think everyone did. In that moment they probably remembered that they had never told me about Ed and Al's past. There was silence, even Ed and Roy had paused in their fight. I glanced around, as if confused, and Al answered,

"Ah, no, thank you."

I shrugged, making my way to the door, calmly stuffing my hands in my coat pockets.

"All right then, just for me then. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I glanced at Al again,

"Please make sure they don't destroy the building before I get back."

I swept out, swiftly making my way to the cafeteria, leaving them to decide. With my little prod at their memory they would have to discuss whether to tell me or not. It didn't matter to me either way. It might be better if they told me, so I could be kept in the loop about things. But if they didn't tell me then I had plausible deniability if I was caught by the bad guys for whatever reason. I paid for my cola and sat down at an empty table in the mess hall, bringing out my research book, I settled down for a long wait. I would give them the time they needed to evaluate my character.


	15. Chapter 15

The wait passed quicker than I thought possible. It helped that Alchemy was swiftly becoming one of my favorite things in the world. It was science, but it was also magic in a way that no one who was born around it could ever understand. My newest project was more 'useful' than 'cool'. There were some circles I had cobbled together in the middle of the night, half-asleep, and woken up later to find that it was a breakthrough in one project or another. Other times they made no sense and I simply pushed them to the side until I found a time when I would need them, or pieces of them.

Sitting there in the cafeteria I quickly got sucked into a rapidly forming side project. My circles and theories for breaking the sound barrier, and using the force for combat were quickly drafted to another purpose. Stealth. If I could figure out to bend sound waves around me the same way that I could light waves then there would be no need for paranoia whenever the circles were in place. I was on my third bottle of soda and fifth page of rapid sketches when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Havoc, unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth, uniform rumpled and half unbuttoned. I blinked at him owlishly, trying to adjust to the change of staring at paper to seeing a person in color.

"Is something wrong Lieutenant?"

He grabbed my elbow, gently tugging me up from my seat. I grabbed my notebook, stuffing it and my pencil in my pocket, and reached for my soda. He steered my out the door, shaking his head.

"You left for coffee 5 hours ago, we were worried. There's something the Colonel had to take care of so, he left to see to it, but he left some files for most of us to look over, yours are about the Benson case. We'd started worrying when you didn't show up almost 3 hours after that. What happened?"

I shrugged, gently reclaiming my elbow.

"I got distracted, I had a sudden thought and wanted to get away from the domestic spat happening in the office so that I could concentrate. Besides, I'm technically off today anyways."

He looked me over curiously and asked,

"What kind of thought? You were doodling pretty intensely in that notebook, I called your name three times."

It didn't surprise me that I didn't hear him, I was halfway in my mind palace, digging around for everything I knew about things like quantum theory and linearly polarized light waves.

"Alchemy. I dabble. We didn't have anything like it back where I'm from, so now that I have it it's endlessly exciting."

I dug out my notebook and handed it to him. It's not like he could read any of the important stuff anyway.

"Here, I was working on pages 78 through 83, I'm not quite sure what to do about the possibility of radiation poisoning, though, so it's gonna be a while before this is actively useful."

He opened the book, looking curious, but once he started reading there was stark disbelief on his face. He quickly snapped it shut and handed it back.

"I think I have a headache now. Alchemists, tearing apart the fabric of the universe with nothing but chalk and maybe a screwdriver."

I laughed,

"Maybe we should make that our new motto."

He laughed too, and we joked around until we were back at the office. From there he went back to his work, and I sat down at my desk to look through the file that Roy had left me. I was halfway through filling out some of the case related paperwork when what Havoc said truly hit me. I froze, my pen freezing with me, sitting in mid air just over the paper. Could I make a sonic screwdriver? Not exactly like the Doctors of course, but Alchemy could do many things. Getting a small device that could unlock doors like that or attach wire from fences and all the small things could be dead useful. And if I wanted something familiar and fandom themed then who the hell would know otherwise? The blue light at the end would be the alchemic activation, and the sound would be the circle also, and perhaps the sound waves hitting one another as they were scrambled to do something I needed, but-

A paper ball hit me in the head. I glared at Havoc, his arm still outstretched from throwing it.

"You're doing it again, half-pint. All that thinking can't be good for you."

I stuck my tongue out at him. If he wasn't being mature, then I sure as hell wasn't either. I went back to the paperwork, but not before making a note about the sonic screwdriver. I could make the outer casing using the pen I had as a model. If this worked it was going to be the greatest thing in Whovian history. To me anyway. There was that one Dalek that showed up at breast cancer awareness marathons, that _was _pretty sweet.

My train of thought probably explained why my dreams were haunted with scratchy voices yelling 'Exterminate' and a bunch of women in pink chasing me around the cafeteria, and my long dead grandmother telling me very seriously that soda was going extinct, all the while petting a platypus like some sort of cartoon villain with a cat. When someone shook me awake I sat up quickly, automatically trying to shake off the weirdness of that one. Honestly, sometimes I'm positive I'm losing my mind. I looked up at the figure blocking the light only to freeze. Hawkeye. I scrambled for my paperwork, I'd already heard horror stories about her and what she did to those who didn't do their paperwork, as well as when I had seen her on the anime, firing shots at lazy officers, and the odd disobedient dog.

"I have it all done, I swear, it's here somewhere just give me a second, ah, sweet cheese, please tell me it's here somewhere...There it is!"

I triumphantly brandished the completed folder, handing it to her. I had switched to Italian for a bit in my terror, but she didn't seem to mind, she took the folder, sighing.

"Arcaro, how long have you been here?"

I blinked up at her, wishing I knew where my reading glasses had gone to, I had a headache from all that reading without them, before I fell asleep.

"Ah, what day is it?"

Shit. Old habits die hard. Normal people ask what time, but I was so used to just powering through until it was done because I get sucked into it that forget that fact. She looked pained, the most emotion I had seen on her face, probably ever.

"It's Wednesday."

I frowned, thinking.

"That's not so bad, the 12th, right? I even ate a full meal yesterday, well I think it was yesterday. Doesn't seem like yesterday. Someone told me it was Tuesday the 11th. Sweet. I think I'm getting better at this."

The pained look was gone. She was stone-faced once more.

"Go home Arcaro. Eat. Drink something other than coffee or soda. There are physicals next week and if I find out you're underweight…"

I squeaked and saluted, I may have let out a garbled,

"Yes ma'am." and then she was gone. I sighed and slouched down, jumping straight back up again when she poked her head out from Roy's office.

"I'm serious, Sergeant, get some sleep."

Sleep sounded nice. But I had so much to do…And it's not like I could just sleep on command. If my brain wasn't stopping then I wasn't sleeping. One look at Hawkeye's expression had me packing my stuff for home. I usually count my days by workouts and showers, and when I would need to do the laundry that would be building up in my locker. Sometimes I would shower twice a day though, or work out more than once. That threw me off, more often than not. That's probably why I was wrong. It wasn't the 12th. I passed a calendar, all the days were crossed out before today. It was apparently Wednesday the 19th.

I left for my apartment surrounded by anime gloom. Hawkeye probably thought me incompetent now. How could I lose an entire week? I was getting worse, constantly getting sucked into work or projects and ignoring people and my own health. What if Hughes had called while I was at the office for several days straight? What if he needed help? I was a horrible subordinate. I had practically abandoned him for work that probably wasn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. I decided I would eat, like Hawkeye told me to, because she was scary. And because the moment I opened the fridge I felt hunger hit me the same amount of force as a car bomb. My hands shook as I tried to make soup. I didn't have the ingredients for much else, but the moment I saw the potatoes I knew I _had _to have it.

I drank tea, and listened to music on the radio, determined to have a quiet night in. Or day, rather, it was close to noon. I didn't know any more timelines, and I wasn't sure what was next, or when. But I did know that things needed to change. I needed to step up my game. I would get a watch with an alarm on it or something, or three rather. One for food, one for 'sleep', and another for when I should take a break and go for a run. Speed was my only asset, I really should keep it sharp, or I would be as good as dead. The timer went off, and I leapt for a bowl. I had used the recipe my aunt taught me, which meant that it was supposed to feed a family of around 7. Now it would feed me for quite a while. I washed up, then stuck a lid on the pot and threw the entire thing into the fridge, no use putting it into smaller containers, just more washing to do later.

I was dead set on settling down on the couch to finish reading the alchemical text that I had bought a while ago, but the moment my ass hit the couch I was out. It was dark when I woke. I was still tired, I could feel it in the fog that pressed down on my mind, and locked up my joints. I sat still, trying to figure out what had woken me in the first place. Silence-then a knock on my door. Soft, yet demanding. I stood, my joints cracking. I dumped my tea in the sink, it had gone cold long ago, and the sugar had solidified on the bottom of the mug. I straightened my shirt, and half-heartedly dragged a hand through my hair. I opened the door, mouth open to tell whoever it was to go away when I was greeted with probably the strangest sight of my life. Havoc, and it was obviously him, the smell of his brand of cigarettes hung in the air, heavier than any perfume, was standing in my doorway. Beside him was a suit of armour. Standing on its own, holding its own head. And waving at me.

I blinked slowly, closing my mouth with an audible noise. I glanced down the hallway, making sure no one was there, tugging them both inside. Both were looking around, curious, and I examined it self-consciously. There were books everywhere, and the couch was obviously slept on, but other than that it was clean, if a bit dusty. I sat down heavily at the kitchen table, motion for them to take a seat. They did, no words had been spoken yet. I drew in a breath to say something but Havoc cut me off.

"I'm really sorry about this half-pint but we need a place to hide Barry."

I raised an eyebrow,

"We?"

He squirmed under my gaze, and I did a mental happy dance. I was successfully channeling Hawkeye.

"Er, the Boss wants him somewhere he won't be seen, and I thought you could hide him…" I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, feeling that headache coming back.

"So the first person you thought of for a hiding place was the person who is never home, who lives exactly in the middle of military housing?"

He grinned sheepishly, and I sighed,

"How do you even know where I live?"

He shrugged,

"We all memorized your address when you were assigned our unit, just in case something happened."

I struggled not to feel touched. I wanted to get all warm and fuzzy inside about that, but if hiding a fugitive was the sort of thing that they were going to do with it then I feared the future of my apartment. I rolled my eyes, standing.

"How long are you guys going to be here?"

Havoc rushed to answer,

"Only a little while, we'll leave tomorrow night! You won't even know we're here!"

With anime accuracy his stomach immediately growled. I automatically moved toward the fridge, while he stammered about how I must have mice.

I pulled out some soup and ladled it into a bowl, activating the circle I had painted on the bottom. There was a flash, and I grabbed a spoon and handed both to him. He looked at it suspiciously and I sighed.

"I just warmed it up. Eat it, I'm not going to poison you."

I wandered out of the room to get blankets and pillows so he would be comfortable on the couch. He may be a guest, but I was so stiff I was willing to swear I had started to go into rigor mortis before they knocked on my door, the bed was _mine_. I tossed a fuzzy blue blanket and a pillow down on the couch and started making more tea.

"Are you going to explain to me about the whole 'Barry's head is detachable' thing, or is that above my paygrade?"

I was met with silence, after it had lasted more than a few seconds I shrugged, plopping a cup of Alchemy made tea down in front of him.

"Fine. Blanket's on the couch, the bathrooms through the door to the left, I'm on the right. Towels are in the cabinet by the door. There's a spare toothbrush in the cabinet under the sink."

"That's IT? No, tell me now, or get out'? And why do you have a spare toothbrush, anyway?"

I looked at him like he was stupid.

"I work for the military, there are going to be things I'm not allowed to know. I trust you guys to do what's right, or at least pick the least of the evils available. And that brand of toothbrushes comes in packs of two, I hope you like pink."

I turned to Barry, giving him a smile.

"Enjoy your stay. If you get bored there are books...well, everywhere. Help yourself, anything classified or personal is encoded six ways to Sunday, so I'm not really worried about any of it."

I turned towards my bedroom waving behind me,

"Night, all."

I left a shell-shocked Havoc in my kitchen/living room, I could hear Barry laughing, probably at his expression. I saw the bed and all the exhaustion I had been pressing back come rushing to front. I changed into a tank top and sweatpants left over from boot camp. I barely remember hitting the bed.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A (Semi)Normal Day at the Office

Havoc left my apartment three days later, taking Barry with him. I had stayed home for those, taking some of my sick days. When I got back everyone at headquarters who knew me, and some who I was sure didn't were staring at me. It was unnerving. I sped up, eventually entering the office at a run. Roy, who had been looking through a filing cabinet, raised an eyebrow at me. I scowled,

"Everyone is staring at me today, I don't like it."

Furey chuckled at me. I turned to him, slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem here?"

One anime freak attack later and he finally explained.

"You've worked so hard for so long, they've never known you to take a day off, and sometimes you don't even bother going home. You're probably one of the most dedicated here. The fact that you took a single day, never mind three, for being sick, there were whispers that you were deathly ill."

I scoffed, "I'm in a constant state of 'deathly ill', it doesn't keep me from work."

Furey opened his mouth, looking worried, but I waved him off,

"Don't worry about it, I'm a walking medical miracle, and I know it."

Doesn't have the same ring as the LMAO song, but close enough I suppose.

"And besides, aren't we all? Life is terminal, man."

My best 'hippy' voice and they just looked a bit unnerved, no one understands my comedic genius.

Havoc came stumbling into the office right about then, looking like he was nursing a hangover. I glared at him,

"What the fuck, man? You still owe me 5000 Cenz, don't think I fuckin' forgot."

He smiled sheepishly, handing over a mixture of bills and coins, roughly equivalent to 40 bucks. Roy and Furey were looking at, slightly shocked looks on their faces. Oh yeah, I don't think I've cursed in front of them. Come to think of it, they hadn't cursed in front of me. Probably thought it would offend my 'delicate female sensibilities'.

I shrugged at them,

"I taught him a gambling card game from my country and cleaned his ass out."

I turned back to him, and grinned,

"You were drunk off your mind, so you may not remember but you started betting wavers and IOU's."

He paled. "Ah, what do I owe you my beautiful and amazing co-worker?"

I deadpanned, "Three puppies, a cat, an owl, and your soul."

He choked on his own spit. I shrugged,

"You shouldn't have made me make some of the alcohol from my home. I told you that you couldn't handle it."

He sighed, falling into his chair.

"I suppose there's a time limit on when I have to get you this stuff?"

I shook my head, "Nah, and the soul doesn't even have to be yours. Though the cat has to be black, and the owls have to be white. You were very specific about some of that. Wrote it down right here."

I whipped it out of seemingly nowhere, waving it in the air, grinning as he collapsed on his desk.

He sat up and slowly turned to Roy,

"Never play against her, she counts cards and I swear she slipped something in my drink."

I rolled my eyes, and said,

"Bitch, I distilled that alcohol in my living room, while you fucking watched."

He gained a faraway look in his eyes, drool sliding from the corner of his mouth,

"Yeah, that stuff was good...potent though."

I rolled my eyes,

"It usually is, but in this case you were a bit of a lightweight."

Before he could contradict me the door opened and Hawkeye swept in, plopping folders down on desks. There was no more chatter, only the sound of pens on paper. That woman is terrifying.

When my alarm went off she looked at me fiercely, I looked back calmly.

"Since I forget to eat, sleep, and take a run I bought watches and set alarms."

She looked at me for a second longer before nodding in approval,

"Go on then. You have one hour."

I bobbed my head, glancing around at everyone.

"Does anyone want anything while I'm out?"

Coffee all around apparently. I knew people tended to become slightly dependent but this was slightly ridiculous. I grabbed a soda for myself before stopping to stare at the options. I missed American food so much, Pizza rolls, Hot Pockets, McDonalds, Popeyes, Taco Bell, oh, mexican food, chinese food, Italian Food...I hadn't noticed the anime tears rolling down my cheeks until Scheska poked me uncertainly,

"Um, is everything alright Stephanie?"

I nodded, pulling myself together before grabbing a carry-out bowl of soup,

"Yeah, just missing all the food back in my country."

She nodded, thoughtfully,

"That's right, I had forgotten that you were foreign, your accent doesn't poke through that often. You speak Amestrian very well for someone who didn't expect to end up here."

I had an excuse for that, it was particularly effective against Sheska.

"Well, I liked to read when I was younger. Still do. I just don't really have the time for it now."

It still blew my mind that Amestrian was the same thing as English. I wasn't magically speaking German or Japanese as a gift from the Truth. It was actually English. The same puns made sense, the same things rhymed. It seemed a bit too good to be true, but then again, different dimension, different rules I suppose.

Sheska and I parted ways soon after. I balanced my soup on top of a carrier filled with coffee, my soda sticking out of my coat pocket. I carefully avoided people, occasionally stopping to move my plastic spoon up from where it was slipping and sliding, and just overall attempting escape. I ended up having to take a detour through 7 hallways more than usual when I heard Armstrongs booming voice. I could not take that bear hug with at least 7 containers of scorching hot liquid in my arms.

Upon my return to the office I was treated like the messiah once I started passing out coffee. Even Hawkeye spared a moment to give me a slight smile. I had figured out a while ago that coffee made this place go round. They had learned that soda was to me what coffee was to them, and brought one along when they went on coffee runs. Sometimes I loved these guys.

Several hours of solid silence and paperwork later my watch went off again. I switched it off, but stared at it, frowning. Furey poked me lightly in the shoulder,

"What's up?"

I motioned to the watch with my other hand,

"The book I read said this would be around the time a 'normal' person would go home and sleep and stuff. I haven't even been here that long."

He stared at me,

"It's seven in the evening. We're going to go home soon, too."

A voice spoke up from the doorway to the inner office,

"What do you mean about the 'normal people' in the 'book you read'?"

We both whipped around, met with the sight of Roy leaning against the door to his office, looking amused.

I looked at him blankly, raising an eyebrow.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

He frowned curiously before saying,

"Granted."

I relaxed from my formerly stiff, military posture, looking away from him and began packing my stuff to leave as I spoke.

"I wouldn't know how normal people work, I just turned 18-" I ignored Havoc choking on his spit for the second time that day. Honestly, how old did he think I was? "-and I hadn't really worked a formal job like this back where I come from. I didn't expect to. I had my eyes on a position as a scientist for NASA, where my habits would have made more sense. I honestly wasn't expecting to get sucked into the military in a foreign country I wasn't even aware existed. Honestly, I wasn't qualified for the military where I'm from, too ill. I didn't think getting randomly drafted while traveling was an issue. I was not prepared for this, I hadn't even finished high school for fucks sake."

I stopped for breath before continuing, motioning with my hands at nothing in particular.

"Anything that I know about how life works in this weird ass country and its weird ass military, no offense, I got from books. Everything I thought I knew about life had to be tossed out a window and all of the theoretical knowledge I had on the working world had to be trashed, too. I could go on all day and include the language barriers I face as well as your weird ass weather and your magical Alchemy bullshit, then there's the culture shock, but I think that was probably enough to answer your question."

At this point I had thrown on my coat, shouldered my bag, and was punching out my time card near the door. I waved behind me,

"Night, all."

I've never been keen on border-line complaining like that but the shocked look on Roy's face as he realized exactly what my issues were...that was totally worth it. Getting it all off my chest was also soothing to the soul. And maybe they'd stop making fun of some of the things I say out of hand because of the nudge at culture shock, that shit gets old.

So what if I had left some things out, like the fact that I couldn't sleep or act like a 'normal person' even if I wanted to. Taylor and Liz had both known that my freaky brain had fucked me up, so I had never really learned to hide it. What they saw as getting so involved with work that I forgot to sleep, was the actual inability to sleep, or just not _needing_ to. All of my life I slept when my brain was done, when it decided it was finally ready for rest. Because of that, I had no circadian rhythm. My body didn't work in 24-hour cycles like normal people or even most animals. I slept when it was safe to, when my mental defenses would come crashing down because they weren't exhausted enough to just stay where I put them.

I spent a quiet night at my apartment, working on my alchemy theories while enjoying a soda and a bowl of my favorite stew. I looked around at the notes strewn out comfortably around me on the squishy couch, and despite all the complaining I'd unloaded earlier...

"I can get used to this."


	17. Chapter 17

Two weeks of normal (ish) days later and I noticed something was off. I had been contacted by Hughes the night before, telling me he was alive, and setting up another code word to verify his identity, should he call again. Mine was 'Periwinkle', his was 'Banana'. Not something anyone is bound to guess. I was still riding my high of victory, when I opened the door to the office and the voices that had been coming from within fell deadly silent. Everyone was gathered in front of Mustang, who had obviously just been handing out orders. I wasn't trusted enough to be involved in this apparently. Well, that hurt a little. I rolled my eyes, dumping my stuff on my desk,

"Alright, alright, I know when I'm not wanted, who wants coffee?"

All hands went up, some looking slightly guilty. I swept off my coat hanging it up as I went out the door, closing it behind me. What they weren't aware of is the special Alchemic circle inscribed on the inside of my coat tag.

I ducked into the women's restroom, locking the door from the inside, and touched the inside of my military jacket collar, flaring a discreet circle into life. The corresponding circle flared, hidden by the folds of my coat in the office. Voices filtered through, quiet but clear. Fuery was speaking.

"-you sure that Stephanie shouldn't be trusted? Havoc did well enough with Barry, she didn't even mention it to _us_. I didn't know until you told me about it, Jean."

There was grumbling that I couldn't hear very well, I resolved to edit the circle a bit when I had the time. All I caught were the words cheating, owl, money, and alcohol. He was cut off by Roy.

"I know that you would like to trust her, I wouldn't mind either, she does good, and she's hiding more intelligence than we could ever guess, most likely. But she's young. I had forgotten that."

"Edward's young too, but you still send him out."

"Edward chose this. He could walk away at any time. Arcaro didn't, which is mostly on me. It was either this or jail."

"I thought foreigners could pay a tax? On that note, I didn't even know she was foreign!"

"She tries to avoid mentioning it, I think she misses home. But the tax, that's mostly for entire families who have multiple people to pitch in. It wasn't meant for single individuals, it was actually designed so that if someone ventured here alone they would end up in the military. She wouldn't have been _able _to make payments. They would have been easy at first, but then interest would randomly be added on, and then it would have built, until there was no choice but to have the military bail her out, or go to debtors prison. It's one of the things I plan to change when I'm Fuhrer."

That was news to me. I hadn't realized that things could have gone so badly if I had decided not to go the military route. Eep much. I listened, recording their plans for later into my memory so that I could go back later and plan around them. Really things would be so much easier if they would just tell me. But then again, it is my own fault for reminding Roy of my age, and the fact that I didn't really even belong here. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It only showed my age. I had intelligence, but apparently I needed practice on how to _use _it.

Once they began to repeat things and key points to make sure that people got them I ended the transmutation. I rushed to get coffee, grabbing my soda as well, stopping to say hello to Armstrong, who had learned that I didn't take kindly to enthusiastic hugs while I was holding coffee. I managed to keep it short, and strolled through the door. I was handing Fallman his coffee when he asked,

"What took so long?"

I grimaced, "Saw Armstrong in the Hallway, managed to keep it mostly short, though." He nodded in understanding before going back to what he was doing. Armstrong made a convenient excuse, actually, he could even corroborate.

Fuery was working on what looked like a portable telephone, splayed out over his desk. He was staring at it intently, so I decided not to interrupt, setting his coffee on the corner of his desk where I knew he'd find it. I got to work on the many requisition forms everyone had dumped on me, what with me being the newbie. It wasn't nearly as much of a hassle for me, I didn't have to go through and search for documents the long way, I had it organized perfectly in my head. I needed to figure out if I could add a computer in there so that I could simply use a search bar. Having basically Google in my brain would be awesome as hell. I was ruminating on the possibilities of that when I heard a solid thump from Fuerys direction. I looked over and his face had met his desk, posture screaming defeat.

"Um….are you okay?"

He groaned, "Nooo. These pieces are too corroded to be put back in, I may have to scrap the entire thing."

He looked at them sadly, and I sighed, standing. I stepped near him and gently tugged the 'ruined' pieces out of his hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Just sit back and watch, Kain."

It wasn't often that I bothered to use first names with people, so it caught his attention and he kept silent. I brought out some chalk from my pocket, drawing the circle I would need straight onto my desk. boring-as-hell-but-not-every-circle-can-be-awesome and then I placed one of the pieces in the center. I made sure not to clap my hands together, I was sure that was just an Edward thing, but couldn't be _completely _certain. I brushed my fingers against the edge of the outermost lines and the ringing and blue lighting filled the air. I got the same adrenaline rush as always, I was smiling as I handed him back the repaired pieces.

"There, knock yourself out."

I took out the spare rag from the top drawer of my desk that I kept for this specific purpose and wiped away any trace of the circle. Fuery was still staring at the whole pieces in his hands, as were Havoc, Breda, and Fallman.

Mustang and Riza emerged from the colonel's office, Roy looking around curiously, "No wonton destruction, I don't hear creative cursing, but I could have sworn that I heard Fullmetal." Fuery ratted me out, the dick.

He pointed at me, "She can do Alchemy!"

He brandished the pieces he had been so upset about.

"She got rid of the corrosion almost instantly!"

All eyes turned to me and I narrowed mine at Fuery,

"Fine, rat me out, why doncha?"

Mustang shook his head,

"I already knew that you studied alchemy, I got my hands on your journal once. I have a feeling that if it wasn't coded to hell and back it would make for an interesting read."

I looked at him innocently.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir, I only write personal memos in the language of my home."

He snorted, "Yeah, I'm sure. And some of the sticky notes by the coffee machine. Everyone now knows how to write 'we're out of coffee' in Drachman, which I should point out isn't _your _language, you didn't even know the name of it for crying out loud."

I shrugged, "I could always resort back to 'coding' my unofficial reports, if that's how you feel about it."

He paled, hands waving in front of him, backtracking in the way only an anime character could.

"No, no, that isn't necessary…"

"I thought not."

I always simplified everything down, written on one piece of paper, that I would leave conveniently on my desk but was always found disappearing to Mustangs office. He would slip it back into my stuff afterward, but it was basically a cheat sheet for the more ridiculous paperwork, everything lined out neatly so he didn't have to read oodles of reports.

Mustang moved on to hold a whispered conversation with Breda, and I pulled a bottle of soda out of my bottom desk drawer. One transmutation later and it was chilled to the perfect temperature. I was starting to abuse Alchemy, but it was just so cool...I popped the lid off the glass bottle using the key to my apartment, Havoc watching the entire time. Finally something seemed to hit him and he jumped up, chair falling back behind him. He pointed at me dramatically, anime expression nearly setting me off in a laughing fit before his words filtered through.

"You aren't old enough to drink!"

I eyed him as if he'd lost his mind,

"Well, no, but this isn't alcohol."

He shook his head rapidly,

"That's not what I meant! Everytime I go to your place I grab a beer out of the fridge! Where does it come from?!"

Fuery gave him a strange look,

"You just randomly show up at her house?"

I nodded sagely to my fellow Sergeant,

"I think he's under orders to make sure I eat, he usually eats, gets his ass kicked at a card game, and then leaves."

Fuery sweatdropped, "I think he's just freeloading."

Havoc shook his head rapidly,

"What! No, of course not! Why would I do that?!"

By now Breda was staring at Havoc too.

"Bro, you've been telling me you had a date every night! Are you dating Arcaro or something?"

A mouthful of soda was promptly sacrificed to the god of anime spit takes. I started choking, laughing hysterically at the same time.

Havoc looked at me, sweat dropping,

"You don't have to laugh so hard, there's nothing wrong with me!"

Fallman shrugged, "No offense, but she is a bit too intelligent for you."

Fuery shook his head, "She's barely legal!"

I sobered, that was one of the main things holding me back in this dimension. My age. Most of the men I was surrounded with were damn fine, but I was too young to even be considered. Like Mustang, who was the finest of all, most likely saw me as a child. It was hellishly frustrating, so I shoved all thoughts of my depressingly non-existent dating life out of my head.

"To answer your question, Havoc, I buy them. Or sometimes brew them myself, but you usually watch those like it's magic."

He stared, "How do you buy them though?"

I stared right back, eyebrows raised. "I walk in, pick a case up, pay for it, walk out. That's usually how shopping works."

"But you're so YOUNG!"

I sighed, "Fine, you wanna know the secret? I wear the old t-shirt from boot camp on grocery day, and you can see the dog tags because of the slightly lower neckline. They assume I'm older because they can tell I'm military, are you happy? It's not like I can even consume the alcohol anyway."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed,

"You could, you're just too much of a goody two shoes to try it."

I looked at him, amused, "Me? Goody two shoes? Have we met?"

He waved it off, "Obviously you're a goody goody if you keep alcohol in the fridge and won't even drink it!"

I stared down at my soda, rolling it in between my hands, speaking without looking up. "When I say I can't drink it, I mean shouldn't. It wouldn't go over well."

"Ah, so you're a lightweight!"

I shook my head, "That isn't the point, I can't drink it, my...condition would be...aggravated by it so I don't bother. I would much rather live to see 20. At the rate I'm going I might even make it that far." Or not, because homunculi and bullshit.

I drained the last of my drink, wary of the silence in the office.

"I'm headed home, it's getting late."

It was 8 in evening, but everyone knew that I meant Hawkeye would get surly if I stayed any longer. I tried to ignore the thought of alcohol, and why I shouldn't indulge. For someone whose mind is always clear, having it fogged ends in disaster. I really wished I could forget sometimes...but I would persevere. I could make it. I was reaching for the handle to the door when it opened, revealing Edward, looking at me in surprise. I skirted to the side, out the door.

"Sorry bout that. Evening Ed, Al."

As I made to walk away Alphonse caught my shoulder.

"Wait, aren't you going to stay and hear about the plans?"

I looked up into his face, well, helmet, and smiled.

"I'm not really allowed in the loop. Foreigner, remember?"

I left it at that, turning and heading down the hall.

I walked across town, making it seem like I wasn't in much of a hurry, but the moment I was inside my apartment I began to rush. I stripped out of my uniform, throwing it on the couch, and changing into my usual incognito outfit, dark colors, easy to move in. I remembered my brothers rundown of what had happened to Havoc in the lab they were planning to storm. There was little that I could do without revealing I had been spying on them, not a good way to earn trust. I had studied medical alchemy, and what Amestris knew of medicine, it was no wonder Havoc had been paralyzed if that was all that was available to him. With my knowledge from the other dimension and my brother's horrifying spoiler tendencies, I had a chance. If it weren't for listening into their pans I'd have no idea where Havoc's accident fell in the timeline, but after hearing it Taylor's spoilers fell into place for me. With the proper minerals, I could reattach nerves using the right circle. I had been researching said circle. I had materials in my bag, which I quickly slung across my body. I activated the circles on my shoes, and the inside of my coat, bending light, shadow, and sound. It wouldn't stand up to direct scrutiny, but I could slip around the edges of everyone's vision unless they were specifically expecting to see me exactly where I actually was. The human brain is too complex to foo completely like that.

I waited in the hospital. I stood guard, waiting for my team, my friends, to be brought in. They came, with a rush and the smell of blood clinging to them. I sat outside the surgery, waiting. Finally, they were both moved to a private room. I don't know how much time passed. I didn't bother to count. When they were finally left them alone and unguarded entered their shared room, carefully. I didn't know where everyone else was or when they would be arriving, I needed to hurry. I placed my equipment to the side, lighting a scentless candle for light, because turning on the electric ones would call attention to the room. I locked the door carefully, pulling the curtains so that the transmutation light wouldn't be noticed.

I turned to Jean, trying my best not to cry. I didn't want to think of the possibility of not succeeding, he was one of my friends. I enjoyed the time he spent at my place, curbing the loneliness of someone who was used to having an older brother hanging around constantly. With a deep breathe the diagnostic circle was placed gently on his stomach. I clapped my hands and began.


	18. Chapter 18

Light. It was streaming through the glass and straight into my eyes. I stirred, sleepily, eyes fluttering open as I straightened up in my chair, stretching the cramps out of my back.

"Ya know if you keep falling asleep in chairs you'll ruin your back."

I shot to attention, glancing at where the voice came from.

"Havoc. You're awake! Do you feel alright?"

Another voice came from the other side of the room.

"Well fine then, ignore me, I'm alright, thanks for asking."

I waved off Mustangs complaints.

"You'll be fine, your file wasn't even tagged."

I saw him stiffen out of the corner of my eye.

"My file is coded, you shouldn't even have been able to read it."

I rolled my eyes, glancing at him,

"Yeah, stupidly simple cryptogram. You should invest in better security, it only took me 14 seconds to do the whole thing. I'm getting a little slow, I haven't had much opportunity to practice."

My eyes went back on Havoc, "So, are you alright?"

He looked at me, expression blank, and I feared for the worst.

Then he smiled, "I feel fine. Doctors say I'll be able to leave in as little as a week."

I sighed, slumping back into my chair. "Grazie a Dio, I was worried about you. The spine isn't something to fuck around with. If you weren't in a hospital bed right now I would hit you for taking stupid risks."

He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure Hawkeye will do enough for everyone once she gets back."

"Back? She was here already?"

He nodded, "She was furious at us for getting injured, and she wasn't too keen on letting you stay in that chair."

I sighed, "Damn, I really gotta find a way to get that woman to like me or life will be hell."

I clapped my hands together and Mustang winced,

"Alright then, what's on the agenda for today? While you are temporarily incapacitated I shall be your legs."

Both of them glanced at one another and then at me, having a silent conversation. My heart dropped.

"The thing with my legs…"

My heart sunk faster, threatening to combust, I sat up straight, stiffly waiting for the dreaded words.

"This morning I made a nurse faint. You see, the doctors determined that there was nothing they could do about the injury to my spine, they didn't know enough about it, didn't have the right tools. However no one told me this, and I was on my way back to bed from using the bathroom when Nurse Maggie came in, screamed, and fell over. When she woke up she explained it to us, and that the only visitor we had was you, who somehow slept through that whole fiasco. We signed you in as a visitor by the way. Want to explain what happened?"

The relief that he was fine hit me, and I sagged back into my seat.

"Yeah, it was me. I was worried as hell that it wouldn't make a difference. The fact that you didn't even notice a problem when you woke is good news though."

Mustang picked up where Havoc left off, ignoring what I said.

"Don't play games here, I know alchemic exhaustion when I see it, and-wait, what?"

I gave him a funny look.

"I said it was me. Back where I'm from medicine is much more advanced than it is here. It wouldn't have been possible for me personally, but _here _I have Alchemy, so recovery is 10 times faster than it would have been if there had been the normal surgery. As it is, since it worked, he should be back to proper military fitness levels in under a month. Go slow on the running though, don't push yourself too much too early, and for Gods sake do your stretches. I'd hate to have to put you back together again."

Roy looked at me curiously,

"Is this all the medical alchemy you've dabbled in?"

My thoughts flashed back to the night of Hughes death.

* * *

_I drew three circles directly on my kitchen table, quickly measuring out substances. I ran my finger along the line of circles, setting them off one after another and my project began to form. A human heart, lungs, kidneys, intestines, brain, one after another the organs formed. Once they were all done, dry, having never touched human blood or done their intended purposes, I placed them on a long sheet of paper stretched across my living room. There were seven circles placed along the paper, I ignored them for the moment, setting my grotesque puzzle pieces down as they would correspond to a human body. This next bit was bordering on human transmutation, but I didn't want __**life **__in this case. I just needed a shell. I clapped my hands, and touched the paper. The materials scattered along it shifted, light flowing and crackling around them. There was a seconds delay, and they shifted again, forming into skin, muscle, and veins, lifting the organs into their proper places._

_I was working with a specific plan in mind. Hughes military physical pulled up in my mind palace, guiding the scars and defining markings, as well as height and weight. Once the materials had nearly settled I reached over onto the coffee table, touching yet another circle. This one flashed around metal and blue fabric, swirling to create the uniform of Hughes rank, wrapping around the newly forming body. I watched as calluses formed right before leather swirled around the bodies feet. Science my ass, this shit is soooo magic._

* * *

I smirked, "Not by a long shot."

At that moment the door burst in, a woman who I assumed was Nurse Maggie scanned the room, a harried look on her face. Her eyes alighted on me.

"Are you Sergeant Arcaro?"

I nodded, "Yeah, is there a problem?"

She shook her head, there's a young man on the line for you, claims he's a state Alchemist, he's terrorizing everyone at the desks, he refuses to let us take a message."

I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Mustang.

"You expecting word from Strawberry blonde Shortcake anytime soon?"

He snorted, "No, but I'm keeping that nickname."

I rolled my eyes at him as he chortled in the background, Havoc joining him. I turned to the nurse, taking off my coat, and leaving it on my chair.

"I'll come rescue you from the big bad Major, lead the way, Miss."

She looked ridiculously grateful. When we got to the nurses station they were buzzing around, all avoiding one phone, lying innocently on its side at the table in front of the wall mounted public phone. I rolled my eyes at them, picking it up and placing it over my ear.

"This is Arcaro."

"Stephanie!"

I heard a shout from the background on the other side, and a short scuffle, then Al was on the phone.

"I've been meaning to call you while we were traveling but Brother never would let me stop long enough, and then when he did call he started scaring the nurses, I'm sorry. We called your house, but Hawkeye answered, she said you were at the hospital, and we got worried, are you alright?"

My mind nearly shut down. Hawkeye was in my house? Was it really Hawkeye or was it Envy? Then again if it had been Envy then he would have answered as me. Maybe.

"Ah, no I'm fine. Just Havoc and Mustang being idiots again, doing God knows what to get each other into trouble. I'm fine, thank you for worrying, though, that's nice of you."

There was embarrassed sputtering and then the phone was wrenched away from him.

Edwards voice emanated from the phone.

"Hey, Arcaro, there was a tourist or two that we met in these ruins we were touring. Two of them knew you, said you met when they were sick. One of them said your banana pudding was a miracle worker, care to share?"

He sounded triumphant and ecstatic. Banana...Oh, he met Hughes. That put a damper on some of my plans. Then again, he wasn't likely to tell anyone, but just to be sure…

"Now now Elric, don't go telling all my secrets. That pudding is for special occasions only. And anyway, I'm much too busy knitting those periwinkle socks to cook much of anything."

He laughed, sounding happier than I'd ever heard him.

"Understood, Sergeant. I suppose we'll have to talk about that secret pudding recipe another time."

He hung up, no goodbye, or see you another time. I didn't take offense. That was just Edward. It may be good to have him in on everything. It certainly takes some of the burden off of myself. A slightly selfish sentiment, but it felt true none the less. I made my way back to the room, nearly turning and running out again when I saw Hawkeye. I shifted under her gaze, unsure if I should leave or not. Finally she shoved the bag she had into my hands.

"Get dressed, there's work to do. I took the liberty of stopping by your apartment to grab your things….You keep a very clean house."

I watched her suspiciously, waiting for a jab to follow. Nothing. I sidled out slowly,

"Thanks."

Before I could escape she halted me with a look.

"You received a phone call while I was there. Edward was trying to reach you. It seemed important."

I shrugged,

"Just pudding. I already talked to him. If you'll excuse me."

I made my escape, ducking into one of the bathrooms for long term military use, showering quickly and changing into my uniform. I tugged my wet hair up into a bun as best I could.

When I reached the room again, I peered carefully inside, only to find Hawkeye looking at me. She rolled her eyes,

"Come on Arcaro, we have work to do at the office while these two terrorize the hospital staff."

She strode off and I barely had time to wave goodbye before I was rushing off after her.


	19. Chapter 19

My mind was blank as I stared at the alchemical disaster in front of me. Lightning everywhere. My civilian clothes let me blend into the crowd gathered around the light show, dogtags carefully tucked away into my dark grey shirt, half sleeves hugging my elbows tightly. My jeans were dark enough to look like black pants, and my boots were military issue, but no one looked that far. I was grateful, I didn't need someone ratting me out to Hawkeye. It was my day off, and she told me to take it easy, and stay home. It wasn't an order, but a suggestion. Coming from her it might as well have been an order, though It had been a hard week for everyone. Central command had dictated that Havoc wasn't fit to return to duty. They said that his injuries, miraculously healed as they were, were too severe. They figured that since they didn't know what had happened they didn't know if they should fear a relapse. He would be confined to desk work, and lose his permit to handle a weapon.

He resigned instead. I had marched right into Mustangs office and offered to take the State Alchemists exam, if it meant Havoc would be able to keep his position.

* * *

"_I'll take the exam." Mustang started, probably more at how the door slammed open behind me than at my words._

"_What?" Then again…_

"_I said I'd take the exam. I'll become a state alchemist, and then they'd trust the work I did on Havoc and he'd be allowed to stay." He looked at me, considering, and then sighed._

"_No, I don't think that would be a good idea. You're of little use to me, or any of us, as a dog of the military. You'd have everyone's eye on you for abilities like you have. It would be best to keep it under wraps."_

"_But Havoc-!"_

_He cut me off, "Havoc is already on a train back East, remember? It doesn't matter anyway. We'll get him back once this, whatever it is, is over."_

"_...he...didn't even tell me he was leaving."_

* * *

I didn't dwell on Havoc for long, brought out of my thoughts when a vaguely Chinese-looking teenager ran by me, chased by Gluttony. I looked after him,

"What the hell is going on here?"

No one answered, and for that I was a bit glad. No need to add 'voices in my head' to the 'reasons why I'm crazy' list. And yes, I keep a list.

I wandered town, following the destruction, sure that Edward was behind it, for whatever reason he had been drawing attention to himself earlier with a serial killer on the loose, there was really no explanation for that which I felt like accepting at the moment. I eventually ended up activating one of the circles on my charm bracelet. It was hidden on the stomach of a small stag. Light faded a bit around me, and I went blurry around the edges before disappearing completely. Well, not quite completely, it wasn't true invisibility, but it was the closest I could get without Harry Potter's brand of magic. I followed the confusion and ended up at a standoff between the Asian guy, an Asian chick, a trussed up Gluttony, and the Fuhrer. I rolled my eyes and facepalmed as quietly as possible. Some part of me didn't even want to know. The other was that one nosy cat that got killed for its curiosity. I was going to run out of lives at this rate.

I was too far away to hear what was said, but the Asian group grabbed Gluttony and started running away, and quickly. I followed, mainly out of desire to figure out what the fuck they were doing with the homunculus, and why the Fuhrer, of all people, decided to get involved. I glimpsed Ed and Al at some point, but kept running. I followed the Fuhrer at a distance, into the sewers, and was forced to activate a sound bending circle located on the bottom of the Tardis on the bracelet. Yes, the bracelet was one giant reference to every show, book, or song I ever liked, sue me. I had to tell Fallman it was a reference to the religion of my homeland to get him to leave all the stuff alone. It also made for a brilliant laugh in private after I was given time to think about that on the spot white lie. It was closer to the truth than I was strictly comfortable with.

I stayed further behind Bradley than before, knowing he was sharp enough to find me if I wasn't careful. I kept out of his sight, not sure what that magic eye of his that Taylor had mentioned once would do. Asshole hadn't even told me why he had it, I'd had to figure it out for myself that it was because he was still a homunculus despite the sin redistribution. If it could see through my transmutation then I was screwed. I didn't really have a desire to test that in the field where he wielded a sword and a bad attitude.

We left the sewers and were rocketing through back alleys. Finally, he stopped, and turned back, walking this time. I sunk into the shadows and didn't breathe, didn't move. He passed me, not stopping. Sheathing his sword, and muttering to himself. I didn't move until I was certain that he was long gone. I emerged from my hiding place, ending my transmutations with a sigh of relief, they itched something fierce. I came across a dog, A dog that had a severed arm tied to it. I rolled my eyes to the heavens, praying that someone save these poor stupid souls from blood loss and whatever bloodborne diseases there were in this world. I didn't give myself time to think, untying the dog, not paying it any attention as it ran off, covered in blood. I dabbed my finger in some of the blood dropping from the limb, wincing at the warmth and consistency of it. I then painstakingly etched one of my older experimental circles onto the back of my right hand. There was so little time left for whoever lost this arm that I didn't allow myself any to be squeamish.

Tracking by blood. Everyone has alchemy in their veins. It comes from the air, the Earth. I could feel it, because I wasn't used to it being there. I realised sometime in my second month in Amestris that it had always been around me, but I didn't become actively aware of it until I activated my first circle. Then it was everywhere. The circle I was drawing in blood would effectively draw me to the same alchemical/blood signature the owner of the arm left on the Earth. It gave me a terrible headache, but I was holding some poor saps arm, I really shouldn't complain about the pain it would cause me to do. The more I used this type of circle, that let me feel the alchemy around us all, the better at it I got, and the more aware of it I was.

I touched the circle gently, careful not to smudge it. It lit up, glowing faintly as the DNA in the blood called to the owner. I wrapped up the arm carefully in my coat, the black one thankfully, I would hate to lose my gift from my brother, and concentrated on the feeling, the itch in the back of my brain. I took a deep breathe, forced down my discomfort, and started running.

* * *

Never was I more grateful to my constant training regime than the moment I spotted the shack. I was winded, tired, and my head was pounding. But I had made it. I heard voices yelling inside, one of them familiar and sounding very harried. I didn't bother knocking, kicking the door open and glaring at where I knew Edward would be. He saw me and gulped. I advanced, waving my bundled up coat and limb threateningly.

"What the hell was that!? Creatures everywhere, random Asians running around, the fucking Fuhrer chasing people around on foot? What have you gotten yourself into now, Elric?"

He laughed nervously,

"Well, you see…."

Mustang came into view, looking tired and slightly exhausted. "What are you doing here Arcaro? Hawkeye specifically told you to go home."

I raised an eyebrow, ignoring the question. "Where's the patient?"

He stiffened, "Patient?"

I sighed, unrolling the coat and brandishing the severed arm. "The one who lost _this_? How do you think I found you? Smell?" I pushed past him, but he caught my shoulder, "Arcaro-"

I cut him off, "Colonel, you know I'm at least proficient at medical alchemy, do you want me to try and re-attach that poor bastards arm or not?"

He breathed deeply, before letting me through, "Be careful, the 'patients' companions won't be very trusting." I nodded absently, wondering what the hell was going on downstairs with the trussed up Homunculus.

I heard a female scream, exhausted, and pained beyond belief. I opened the door, only to find a knife at my throat.

"What are you doing here? What are you?"

I brandished the arm, "I'm a medical alchemist, I'm here to help." Asian grandpa stared at me, a hard look in his eye,

"That is not what I meant. What are you?" I glanced at the military doctor Mustang must have found. He just shrugged so I looked back at the old man. Taylor hadn't ever mentioned his name, so I had next to nothing to go on.

"I'm human, if that's what you're asking. I saw the thingamagummy that they had trussed up downstairs, and I'm not something that." The Asian teenager stood from his chair in the corner. I wondered for a second why he wasn't helping downstairs but he spoke, interrupting my thoughts.

"Let her try. If there's any hope she may live…" I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, she'll live. I was wondering how I'm going to re-attach this. It wasn't exactly left in the greatest of conditions. Intelligent tactic, terrible environment." I walked up to the girls side, noting that there was a slight hint of infection at the jagged would where her arm should have been. I whistled.

"Hold this."

I shoved the arm at the doctor, pulling my sleeves up further than they already were, before washing my hands in the sink nearby. The young Asian was watching me intently.

"What was that circle on your hand? Why was it written in blood?"

I barely glanced at him as I went to the girls side.

"It was to track the girl, it was in her blood. I was following you, wondering why the Fuhrer of all people was chasing you, and why you had a captured thingycreature. Then there was a severed arm and I worried for whoever it belonged to. I used the blood to find you, brought the arm with me. I had no ice to keep the nerves of the arm dormant, though. So don't get your hopes up about me putting it back. Automail is probably your best bet at this point."

The old guy shook his head, "Just save her life."

I raised an eyebrow. "I plan to."

The boy drew himself up to his full height.

"You will be compensated once I become Emperor of course."

I think he was surprised when I laughed.

"I don't need compensation. I'm going to save a human life, ask questions that no one will answer about what the actual fuck is going on here, and then I'm going to go home and figure out why they won't just fucking keep me in the loop."

I drew a diagnostic circle, one of my own creation, and flared it to life with a touch. Information flooded my brain, and I grimaced,

"My good doctor, do you have any supplies?"

I sent him off to get the things that I needed, carefully sifting through the influx of facts. The teenager hung over me curiously, toeing the edge of being in the way.

"Edward said that Alchemy was not used for medicine much."

I didn't look up from my circle.

"It isn't, but I'm not from around here. I didn't know the rules, so I made my own with what I already knew of science. Most of the circles I'm going to use are going to be my own creation."

I briefly entertained the idea of just making her a new arm, but I didn't know enough to make it _work _once it was real and attached, and that was what she needed. Automail really would be her best bet. The more I looked into it the more I became convinced.

"The arm is beyond saving. But automail would be a possibility. I'll try to save as many nerves as possible to keep that option open to...ah, her."

I realized halfway through that I didn't know any of their names.

"I'm Stephanie by the way."

The teen bobbed his head, "I'm Ling Yao, the girl is Lan Fan, and this is Fu."

I nodded absently, drawing another circle, this time on her shoulder. The doctor appeared with some of the things I needed and disappeared immediately to get the rest. Ling spoke yet again,

"Is this similar to Alkahestry by any chance?"

I shrugged, "Never heard of it."

He looked at me intently but I didn't meet his eyes. Lightning sparked as my transmutation started, I pulled the energy through her veins and nerves, getting rid of the grime and dirt that had tried to lodge there, burning out the sickness before it could reach her heart.

"I don't believe that."

"Oh?"

"No. Because I grew up around Alkahestry, and what you're doing now is much too close to it to be coincidence."

"Well, it _is _a coincidence. I don't know what Alkahestry is. Until only a little while ago I thought Alchemy wasn't even real. After I first did a transmutation I felt it. In the air, in the water, in people themselves. Whatever it is that makes Alchemy tick. It's dark. But not in you three. I don't understand, but it's not my job to understand. Right now it's my job to fix this girl, so if you'd excuse me."

The light output from the transmutation circle increased, but so did the blood flow. That was one bad thing about what I was trying. The veins would heal, so blood would flow through them again. The doctor helped with that, applying bandages where I needed, and taking over completely once my alchemy bit was done.

Lan Fan was passed out, but stable. I sat in the chair in the corner to take a breather. I had done way too much alchemy for one day, not to mention running several hours while doing one one of them, and carrying a human body part. A human body part that was useless now anyway. I didn't realize that my eyes had closed until someone was shaking me awake. Brown eyes met gold, and I noticed, not for the first time, that he was very pretty for a boy. I opened my mouth and in my sleepy state nearly said it, but thankfully he interrupted me.

"They're downstairs, preparing Lan Fan to leave. Fu is going to take her back to Xing later. Ling is staying here to help with all of this."

I nodded, moving around slightly, and preparing to go back to my nap. The moment my eyes closed again he poked me,

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

I sighed, "I'm sleeping off the mammoth sized headache I have from all the alchemy use. Not all of us are geniuses at it. Don't you have a creature to...do things with?"

"I figured you were going to help."

I looked back up at him, noticing he looked slightly put out, not even puffing up a bit at the compliment.

"I don't see how much use I would be. And in any case Mustang is not happy with me being here at all, I'm kind of hiding."

He rolled his eyes, "I'll go talk some sense into the bastard. Then you can help us figure out what the hell is going on."

"Oh? I thought I was the only one confused about this shit storm of fuckery. Good to know I'm not alone. If he's being difficult don't bother. I'll just stop doing his paperwork for him, and he'll go nice again real quick."

I heard laughter as he descended the stairs. I was on the edge of sleep for a while, not quite falling into it when I was jerked awake. Something downstairs had exploded. Violently.

I threw off the blanket that the doctor had tossed over me,

"Damnit Fullmetal, what have you gotten yourself into now?"


	20. Chapter 20

I grabbed a scalpel from tray where the doctor had set the clean ones, lamenting leaving my gun at home. That would be Fullmetals luck, an interrogation turning into a terrorist attack or something. I clutched the scalpel in a backhand grip in my right hand, debating going silent or invisible, but figured I didn't want to be a victim of friendly fire. Hawkeye seemed like the type who would be able to just sense that I was there.

I crept down the stairs, taking them slowly and carefully, unsure what structural damage the blast may have caused. My arrival went unnoticed and I spent a few seconds trying to figure out what was happening. Gluttony had changed,drastically and apparently sucked half the house into his stomach and was raving about killing Mustang. Joy.

The next blast nearly caught him, but he was yanked out of the way at the last second. Everyone leapt into action, and in a flurry of movement, everyone was gone. Either escaping or fighting the creature. I felt a sting of sadness that hadn't bothered to go upstairs and get me out, but I shoved it down. They must have assumed I heard the blast. Honestly, who didn't? I picked my way through the rubble and was just in time to catch Edward insisting he had to stay to fight Gluttony.

"-there's no room in there anyway."

I groaned, drawing attention. "This is complete shit. I should have stayed home today."

Hawkeye glared at me, "Yes, you should have. Come here, we could probably squeeze you in between Lan Fan and the Colonel."

I shook my head. "Lan Fan needs as much space for air as possible, and packing a bunch of people in there like tuna isn't the best option. I'll stay behind, I'll probably be needed to patch these idiots up again, anyway. Wouldn't happen to have a spare gun for me too, in there would ya?"

I eyed the pistol Edward was holding like it was a snake, identifying it as old, but reliable. He shoved it at me,

"Take it. You're probably loads better with it than I am."

I shrugged, tucking it into my waistband, and commented drily, "That, would be a matter of opinion."

We turned away to the ruckus happening in the forest but Fu called out,

"Wait! Girl!"

I turned, "Names Stephanie. Whatcha need?"

I fought the urge to tack 'Gramps' onto the end of it, reminding myself that he was a fucking ninja who could skin me before I could blink. He struggled with words for a second before he said, "Thank you for saving my granddaughter."

I waved it off, "Don't worry about it. Doc over there did most of the work anyway. I only dished out a couple of pretty sparks."

I made my escape before he could say anything else, I already felt hella awkward about the whole thing. Edward ran straight for Alphonse, and I watched from the shadows, as he had ordered. I was only to interfere if there was no other option or someone got injured.

Envy appeared, kicking the game to a whole other level. He and Ling duked it out for a while, and eventual he ordered Gluttony to just eat him. Bad idea. Edward was caught in the crossfire, as well as Envy himself. The giant mouth on Gluttony's stomach disappeared and he went back to his usual childish self. I approached him, sinking to my knees beside Al, desperately searching my memory for what was going on. Was it my fault? Did the butterfly effect from my arrival cause Edward to die?

It was only the large hand that gently shook my shoulder that brought me back to reality. I looked up, Alphonse caught me up to speed.

"Gluttony agreed to take me to his father, who might know what happened to them and how to reverse it. Could you find the Colonel? Tell him what happened? I don't want to drag you into this."

I shook my head, "Too late now. I don't want you to go alone. But I should report it, get backup for you…"

He decided for me. "Go Stephanie. You're too tired to keep up with us anyway, you're swaying even while you're sitting down."

It was then that I noticed the panda bear. "Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have a Panda?"

"A panda? You mean this weird colored cat? I found her and she was lost and alone."

"Alphonse. That's not a cat. That is the smallest Panda Bear I have seen in my life."

"Oh? Have you seen a lot of them?"

Well, on TV.

"Yup. They're bears. They're usually huge. This one is the cutest I've seen in my life."

"Good to know." Gluttony started tugging on Al's hand, and I turned around,

"Well Shit. Which way is Central?"

* * *

A few hours and near mental breakdowns later I was stumbling into our office at Central Command. Everyone was gathered there, probably for the update. I sank into a chair, hair a mess, dirt caking my jeans, blood on my shirt. I was trembling, I could feel it. Probably from low blood sugar, I hadn't eaten in a while. I had already ignored my alarms twice while I was in the forest. A soda entered my vision. I looked up, eyes meeting Mustangs.

"Here, you look like hell."

"Have I ever mentioned how awesome you are?"

I popped the top off easily and took a swig before continuing.

"On another note, it's a wonder you ever get dates if that's how you always comment on peoples appearances."

My attempt at humor flopped. Hawkeye stalked closer, arms crossed.

"Where are the boys?"

I sat back, head hitting the wall.

"We failed. Miserably. I don't...I couldn't…"

I struggled with words for a second before I put down my soda, and took a deep breath, and spoke as if giving a formal report. It was the only way I could form words.

"It started out fine. Major Elric ordered me to stay out of the fight because I was weak from the earlier transmutations. I couldn't fire any rounds because the nature of the confrontation, everyone was much too close together, and I'm not exactly the best shot. Envy showed up halfway through, splitting up the fighting. Ling was taking care of him when Envy gave the order for Gluttony to 'eat' Ling. There was a blast of some sort, and the Major jumped in the way, trying to save Ling. Envy went after him. All three were sucked into the things stomach. Alphonse convinced Gluttony to take him to their 'father' and try to get them back. He wouldn't let me come with, said I was too weak and should find reinforcements."

Hawkeye stared at me fiercely,

"So, you let a 14 year old boy walk away with the enemy that has expressed interest in him several times before, alone, with no way to actually send these reinforcements?"

Damn this woman was harsh.

"Maybe you should have stuck to civilian life in the first place, if you can't handle simple orders like "stay home", in the first place."

I glared halfheartedly.

"They're in the sewers. There's no way I would have let Al walk into something alone. I tagged a tracking circle onto Gluttony. I can find him at any time, at least until he notices there's a circle on the back of his shirt."

I shuffled through Havocs old desk, finding a map, and unfolding it.

"According to the circle, which is experimental, mind you, it can be wrong up to 20 feet and I haven't been able to narrow it down further in testing, he should be around here. Roughly 39 feet below ground level."

I circled the area he was in with a nearby pencil. I tossed the pencil down on the desk before looking back up at a stunned Hawkeye.

"I might not be military material, but I try to at least be a good friend. Alphonse wasn't in any danger. If I felt power fluctuations from Gluttony signifying the opening of that mouth thing again then I would have changed course and found him, back-up be damned."

I grabbed my soda again, limping to my desk. I had fallen wrong when running and hadn't been able to fix it all the way. I sank into my chair with a sigh of relief, ignoring them talking plans about what they had just learned. It was early morning again. The battle had taken place sometime near sundown, or dark, I wasn't really paying attention at the time, but I noticed when I was walking back to the city in the pitch black. That was part of the reason I had gotten hurt. I grabbed a spare uniform from my desk and slipped out, no one noticing in the rush to figure out what to do about Edward. I took a hot shower, promising myself a good breakfast in exchange for walking through the night. My legs were made of fire, and my back was made of pain. I could have slept for a week, but it wasn't my off day anymore. I doubt my brain would have let me shut down anyway. I dressed in my uniform, pulling my abomination of hair into a bun, wet bangs trying to escape.

I wandered to the cafeteria, grabbing a breakfast sandwich to eat when I got to the office, and another soda for when I finished the one already on my desk. I ambled in, unnoticed and sat down. Chowing down on my food, I observed them. Mustang called out orders for information to be brought to him, or where to place something. My name wasn't mentioned. They still weren't used to having me around. It made sense, it was just these guys for the longest time, that's hard to get used to. Havocs name was called a few times. But when he didn't respond Mustang looked a bit lost.

"Havoc, hand me the green folder on the architecture in the sewers….Havoc?"

He looked up, lost again. I sighed, getting up and grabbing the folder, handing it to him.

"He'll be back eventually, Colonel."

I was met with a stiff nod and a terse thanks for the folder. Things calmed down as people were called out to meet with some higher-ups. We didn't think anything of it at first. Until no one came back. The more people who left the more I ended up doing. Finally, Hawkeye left and it was just Mustang and me. He was called out too. When he came back he was pale, following him was an equally pale, but alive Edward Elric. I jumped out of my seat, knocking it over, and rushed to him, checking him over for injuries.

"Edward! You're okay! I noticed some strange activity from the tag I had on Gluttony, but it went out completely a few hours ago. I couldn't get it to reactivate, did anything happen?"

I was treated with a halting story of a strange man who looked like his father and who could turn off alchemy. There was also a bit of the Alkahestry stuff that Ling insisted I was using. Edward sighed,

"It was weird, the circles weren't even near her and she could activate them, and then there was the whole 'sensing the energy of everything' that she talked about. Man, and then the thing with the Fuhrer happened."

Apparently, Bradley is a homunculus, and he doesn't care who he has to threaten. From the teenage mechanic to the soldiers on my team. Mustang was sitting at his desk, head in his hands. I sat back in my seat.

"Well, just me then. I suppose since the paperwork hasn't gone through yet I'm still on Hughes team, no one thought to assign me somewhere else because officially I wasn't linked to you."

I turned to Edward,

"What do you mean, she sensed the energy of everything, I thought that was how alchemy was done."

He looked at me strangely, and even Mustang looked up from his tiny pity party. Edward spoke slowly, as if I was stupid.

"Of course not, how have you managed to get this far if you think that crap?"

I rolled my eyes,

"Obviously, it holds some truth to it, if the Xingese use it. Ling said that what I was doing was close to 'Alkahestry', whatever the fuck that is. Right after that first transmutation there was...something. I'm not sure what, but it was everywhere, and I could tug strings and change circles to make it what I needed, it was easier to just feel some things out rather than think them through. Of course, after there was a circle it was easier to reverse engineer the thinking part anyway."

More stares.

"What? Don't look at me like that, it's freaky."

Mustang's head hit his desk. "I'm doooomed."

I looked at Edward,

"What's he on about?" But he was too busy hitting his head against the wall to answer.


	21. Chapter 21

I stumbled, nearly tripping over my own feet, resorting to a strange hop-skip that left me looking like a complete idiot. I sent a silent prayer of thanks for the fact that the hallways were empty and went back to attempting to walk when I couldn't see where I was going.

It had only been one day since everyone was reassigned but I was feeling the loss. Not so much emotionally, I could call them in the evenings or visit when I took a day off. It was the shortage of someone to help take up all of Mustangs stuff that was really hurting me. Almost literally. My left hand was cracked and bleeding in places from all of the writing, and my right hand was quickly learning to pick up the slack. I still wasn't really in the know, and I had a feeling that if I had one of those 'why don't you trust me' anime outbursts I probably would be read into the program. But, I couldn't manage that. I wasn't good enough of an actress to pull it off in just the right way, and not enough of a native anime character to manage it naturally. So it was back to spying and sneaking around for me.

I dropped the papers off file by file at the appropriate offices, receiving more than one pitying look. It was notorious how lazy Mustang was when it came to paperwork. They probably all assumed that I had been doing all of this on my own. He did work, when he put his mind to it he was superb at it. But lately he had more on his mind that this stupid paperwork. So, all the official work was done by me, some then signed by him, or rather, me in his handwriting. It was all the covert stuff that he handled. I was still a little clueless as to what he was planning. Taylor had only hit on some of the major points and left out others. He was of the opinion that if he didn't give out _all _the spoilers, then it didn't count as spoilers. Lately, I had entertained the idea of strangling him if I ever saw him again. I was almost out of things I knew about the future. Eds fate was the one sitting most heavily on me.

Whether this followed the ending of the Brotherhood version, or the 2003 version was still a little but up in the air. I didn't know enough about the 2003 version to differentiate anyway until people got sucked into Nazi Germany and killed by zeppelins. I had thought about that movie a lot. If I managed to go through the gate like that, would I go home? Or would I end up in a world with no Alchemy, and Nazi's running around? I could only hope if I ended up there it would be in the Nazi Germany that also had Captain America running around in it, kicking all kinds of ass. I would be cool with that.

I dropped off the last paper, automatically heading for the direction of the mess hall. I think most people stopped mid-stride when I got two coffees rather than Mustangs coffee and my ever-present soda. One looked out the window nervously, as if expecting the sky to start falling. I snorted, grabbing the entire cardboard box of sugar packets, waving at the onlookers as I walked out. Well, that should get human resources to assign more men to Mustang rather quickly. Or run people away quicker. If they thought I couldn't handle it they might be too afraid to try. Hmmm, two types of people out there, I guess.

I felt a shadow looming over me and barely dodged out of the way of the bear hug Armstrong had been sending my way. I raised an eyebrow, holding up the coffee in my hands.

"Sorry big guy, coffee run, no hugs available at the moment."

The sparkles started dancing and I examined them, wondering if this was an anime thing or if maybe my subconscious was putting them there because it knew they would be there if this was still a show. I was knocked out of my thoughts by the very forceful pat on the back Armstrong gave me.

"Of course Stephanie! The work ethic you possess is one to marvel at! Tell me, does it run through your family for generations like the many wonderful traditions of the Armstrongs?" his words echoed through the near-deserted halls, and I'm pretty sure I saw dust fall out of the ceiling tiles at the sheer volume of it.

I glanced up at where he was now walking beside me and then shrugged,

"I wouldn't really know, I guess. I was raised by my Aunt and older brother. My aunt was retired, she used to be a professional ballet dancer. Sometimes she would teach at the local dance school, but she didn't really need the money. My brother was still training to be doctor, he was doing his residency when I...left. They would both stay at home with me when I was younger because I was very...sick. They only recently felt okay with leaving me alone for a few hours."

I expected him to wax poetic about the bonds of family and how they cared for me but instead I got a serious look and a question.

"Then how is it you were allowed to leave, if you were so sick?"

I kept my eyes on my feet, not really wanting to see what emotions were splayed in his expressive eyes.

"I...didn't really go over it with them. I sort of..._had _to leave. I don't mean the itch to move, to get out. I mean there was an emergency and I had to leave or someone would die. I didn't really think, I just left, and now I can't ever go back."

He patted me on the back, gentler than the last time.

"But of course you can go back! They are your family, I am sure they would accept you back easily, even happily!"

I laughed dryly,

"That's not the problem, Major. My former...that country was very strict about who leaves and who returns. I was not authorized to leave, so I would not be allowed to return, no matter what the circumstances were. It's just not allowed. No exceptions, no favors, no second chances. I can never return home. So I made a new home here the best I could. I never had friends other than my brother, so here is already looking a bit better, plus Jean used to remind me of Taylor. That was nice."

We had reached the office. I opened the door carefully turning the doorknob with my elbow, a trick I had picked up my first week working for the military. I paused before entering, and looked up, finally meeting his eyes. He had a kind look, one that I hadn't really seen before. I looked away quickly,

"Um, anyway, it was nice seeing you Major. Have a nice day."

I turned to go into the office but was stopped by a heavy hand on my shoulder. I didn't look up but he started speaking anyway.

"I meant to thank you, before, but I got carried away with our talk. The boys and I really enjoyed that Banana pudding that you made."

I grinned up at him, unable to help myself.

"That was nothing, you should see the Periwinkle Pound cake, that my friend, is Nirvana."

He looked lost,

"Nirvana?"

I resisted the urge to facepalm. Of course they wouldn't know about Nirvana.

I waved the coffee around, searching for words,

"It's, ah, a religious place, well not really a place, more like transcendence from reality and escape from the cycle of rebirth...um, never mind. Bottom line, the cake is good."

He chuckled,

"I shall take your word for it. On another note, the chef you had make us that pudding, he wanted to tell his darling about it but figured that wouldn't be the best idea. He was wondering if you could try to check on her, make sure she isn't too depressed at the loss of such a fine culinary experience?"

I froze up for a second. Hughes wanted me to check on his family. At least I think that's what he meant. Unless someone out there _actually _made them a pudding. Possible, but not likely.

I sighed,

"Well, I suppose I could bring over that pound cake to make up for it. I'll see you later Major."

I pushed the door open all the way, only to be met by Mustang sitting at Fuery's old desk, looking at me intently, as if trying to pick me apart. I was at a loss for words. Damn man is hot and he knows it. What's truly dangerous about him is how he can use it like a weapon. In my opinion anyway. I yanked my eyes away, fixing them on my boots, setting his coffee down in front of him with a handful of the sugar packets.

"Thought you could use some caffeine, I know I could."

I collapsed into the chair at my desk, taking a swig of the drink, wincing at the quality. I coughed slightly,

"You'd think with the taxes I'm paying they could afford better coffee."

That earned me a snort of laughter, and with a roll of the eyes everything went back to normal.

* * *

The door burst open, splinters falling everywhere as a blonde blur sped through the room to Mustangs inner office. I sighed, grabbing a piece of chalk to put it back together but Alphonse beat me to it. I smiled,

"Alphonse! I haven't seen you in a while, are you alright?"

He started, turning to finally see me behind the stacks of completed paperwork.

"Oh! Stephanie! I'm fine, are you alright? You weren't looking too good when I left you."

I shrugged, motioning to the work,

"I'm doing fine now. I was just worried over Edward at the time. How's he holding up after that incident?"

He was stopped from replying when Mustangs office door flew apart, the blonde terror in question walking calmly out this time. I sighed, letting my head hit the desk. Alphonse fixed the door while I was down and I decided that he was a saint for dealing with that brother of his every day. Saint Alphonse. Sounds legit.

I was jerked out of my thoughts when I felt a heavy but normal sized hand land on my shoulder. I sat up, seeing that Edward was now beside me, glaring at Mustang.

"We'll take this with us."

I felt my eyebrow twitch.

"I am not a 'this'."

I was ignored.

Mustang glared at Edward,

"No, that one's mine, get your own."

I ignored them as their argument escalated to pointing fingers and shouts, turning instead to Alphonse, raising an eyebrow and jerking my head in their direction.

"What's he going on about?"

Edward actually replied, still a little red in the face from his argument.

"We're going to Briggs for...reasons, and we want you to go too."

I sighed, opening my desk drawer and pulling out a map, unrolling it and searching until I found Briggs. Way up north.

"Oh, hell no, it's cold as fuck as up there. Not to mention the bears."

Edward opened his mouth but I cut him off before he could so much as breathe.

"Edward, I would love to go, really, but that type of climate really wouldn't work well with my health, fucked up as it is. I'm just too small. I don't have the body heat to be anything but miserable, and cold air is almost too much for my lungs to take. Not to mention the only use I would be is that I can speak Drachman, which won't endear me to General Armstrong at all. She's suspicious of everyone."

He shrugged it off,

"I have a letter from Major Armstrong, it should be fine."

I snorted,

"Yeah, you tell me how that works out for ya."

Alphonse spoke up,

"But Stephanie, are you sure you can't come with us? I'm sure you'd be more of a help than you realize. What if we run into Drachmans?"

I deadpanned,

"Kick their asses and run, preferably without speaking or otherwise hinting that you're Amestrian. The border there is war waiting to happen. And with the internal shit we have going down, war from the outside is the last thing that we need."

Mustang focused on me, gaze razor sharp and calculating.

"What do you mean, war?"

I ran my hand along one of the files, pulling a grey one expertly from the middle without upsetting the rest. I grinned.

"After all this paperwork experience I should be the undisputed _master _of Jenga"

At their confused looks I just sighed,

"Game with wooden block tower, take pieces out, don't let it fall. Honestly. You'd think we'd share some board games."

I flipped open the file ignoring whatever confused looks they still had, pulling out a few sheets of paper. I closed the file, setting it down and moving over the Fuerys desk, which was clear. I set them down side by side, taking a highlighter out of my pocket, marking several sentences I had noticed earlier on all 5 forms.

I looked up at them, Edward had a blank look on his face but Mustang was going paler the more he looked at them together. He looked up at me,

"Is this-?"

I nodded,

"I honestly shouldn't have access to any of this, no one person should. That's probably why it's never been noticed before. But I am the only person within the Amestrian military who can understand Drachman to a native level. Everyone else can sound out a few words if you give them 3 hours and a shit ton of coffee."

I pointed to the first two marked lines, glancing up at Edward,

"These two are about what the Drachmans actually requested for the trade agreement."

I pointed to the line further down.

"This is what we translators gave the Fuhrer and other relevant people, I should know because I handed each of them a copy in person. They read it in front of me, one made a snarky comment, so I know it sunk in."

I pointed to the second sheet.

"Here is what they used at the meeting."

Gold eyes widened,

"This is nothing alike, there's nothing here they needed."

I nodded, pointing to the following pages.

"To cut things short, someone is intentionally damaging relationships with Drachma in whatever manner they possibly can. This is only a small part of it. My theories right now range from keeping them hostile so the military is more needed and given funding, to inciting attack so that we can whip out some surprise weapon and beat them out, gaining territory and resources. That last one is so unlikely it hurts, unless we're talking state alchemists."

Edward was still staring at the pages, not moving. Finally, I sighed and sat back into Fuery's chair,

"Whatever it is you're in the military for, you better find it quick or end this corruption, before you get called to a war of Amestris' own making."

Mustang sat down in Hawkeyes old chair in the corner, crossing his legs and putting what I call his 'scheming face' on.

"What's our timeline, Arcaro?"

I winced,

"Well, it would have been much, much longer had I not been here."

At his sharp look I continued quickly.

"Well, you see, before me there was really no one to translate properly, so negotiations were slow. Like, old guy with arthritis, a broken hip, and no feet kind of slow. It would have been dragged out because of the language barrier and everyone being too stubborn to send an actual person to immerse themselves and learn the language. And there might be the whole, 'I don't want your people in my country' thing too. But with me here, translating everything we receive and send, it picked up ridiculously quickly. Where we might have had 15 to 20 years, now we have more like 1-2, give or take a few months depending on if whoever's planning this accelerates things."

I took a deep breath,

"If...if I were to work more closely with things, dig a bit deeper into the ranks at the foreign relations office...I may be able to fudge what goes out, simply because I have to translate it. If I get it where I'm more solidly trusted I could get access to send things myself, and try to fix things or at the fucking least slow it down so we can get a new old guy in charge, cuz I think this one's broken."

Mustang snorted, before going back to examining me. He nodded curtly,

"Do it. Spend more time there, but be careful. You'll have to pop in here at least a few times a day so that it seems as if you're still working on this." He looked balefully at all the work piles around. I rolled my eyes,

"I'll call in a favor, Sheska can be temporarily transferred in the help you while I'm out."

Edward sighed,

"Well Al, guess we're on our own for this."

I grabbed his sleeve before he could escape.

"Not so fast, buddy, you're heading right into the red zone. Tell Armstrong."

Mustang turned back to us,

"Now wait a minute-"

I cut him off,

"The General is not in on this. None of it. I've put feelers everywhere, tagged people who are of interest, and took note of those who may be of use. General Armstrong is marked as a potential asset."

Edward didn't look at Mustang for approval. It felt great when he just nodded, trusting my word. Maybe I'm getting somewhere


	22. Chapter 22

Unlike most in the military I don't take my lunch break in town. I eat something small, simple, and quick at my desk so I can just hurry up and get it over with. I had forgotten my main reason not to go into town right up until I had let Hawkeye, who now insisted I call her Riza since we weren't working closely together anymore, convince me to eat with her at some cafe close to Central Command.

As we walked along in our blue military uniforms I was starting to remember why I didn't leave base except to go home, and why I only left home when I was absolutely out of all forms of food I could possibly survive on. The reason I hate town, is because people live there. I'm not afraid I'll get hurt, I have alchemy and a fucking gun, not to mention going out with Riza is equally as secure as if I were with the Secret Service. No, what I don't like is when people try to talk to me. I try to be nice, but I'd become more and more of an introvert as time went on. The longer I went gathering more stuff into my impossible memory the more difficult it became to be around people. When I see them, I add them to a scrapbook in the library on the third floor depending on where I see them. If I see them enough they get their own page, or even book, like Elicia. Edward has a shelf of his own filled with books, Maes has three. So, excuse me for not wanting to have to risk a headache because of having to subconsciously organize that shit. I will ALWAYS know what Mr. Farrell from the bakery looks like mid-sneeze. (not pretty, in case you were wondering.)

Also, it is literally possible for me to get lost in my own head. I can be kinda out of it at times. The chances of getting lost in my thoughts when out in town are smaller when I have a goal or something specific to focus on, like a mission, an errand, or even groceries. Just walking around with Riza is much more dangerous for my psyche, especially since she isn't the type to talk much when others can hear.

It was infinitely easier once we got to the cafe and started talking. Not only was the awkward atmosphere mostly gone, but the risk of falling away from reality because some random person sparked a review of the initial memory I had of them was going down. Riza seemed to like me a bit more now that I had proved myself capable of keeping Roy working while she was gone. I had noticed that she was going out to lunch more often, with several different people. I was just the latest on the list.

By the time we were halfway done with our food I had become twitchy, and she had noticed.

"Are you alright Stephanie? Have you been missing sleep again?"

I laughed,

"Nah, I've been keeping that schedule with the watches. I'm just a bit antsy, I don't like going to public places much."

She raised a delicate eyebrow,

"And why is that?"

"Because there are people there."

She laughed and I had to control myself to keep from gaping. She didn't do that much. When she stopped she still looked amused.

"Are you serious? That's why you don't go anywhere? You don't like to socialize?"

I scowled,

"I'm fine with socializing, I'm talking to you aren't I?"

At her unimpressed look, I continued.

"I just don't like interacting with people my own age. They insist sometimes, but once they get to know me they turn one of three ways, vindictive, fearful, or pitying. I never was sure which I hated most."

"Why would they pity you?"

"That's the one you worry about? Not the fear? I could be a serial killer but nooo, you worry about why near strangers pity me."

Another stony look forced me to answer for fear of retribution.

"Because after a while they find out I'm damaged, sort of."

Riza sat back in her seat, abandoning her salad.

"Yes, you've mentioned that before, but you've never explained. Nothing life threatening ever showed up on your physical, well, if you ignore how underweight you were, probably _still _are."

I poked at my food, wondering if I should come clean or not, even just a little bit.

"It wouldn't show up on a physical. In a way, it's a mental thing."

She hid surprise, but I caught it.

"Mental illness?"

I rolled my eyes,

"Yeah, something like that. I guess you could say that my brain is sorta eating itself in a way."

This time, she openly gaped. I continued talking regardless.

"The only way to truly explain it would be to answer the age old question, 'If I eat myself would I get fatter, or disappear completely?'."

I was saved from rambling on by waitress showing up with our check. I tossed down enough money for both and the tip.

"I know I promised to walk around with you but my break's not as long as yours. I should head back. See ya later."

I walked swiftly out of the restaurant, not bothering to look back, knowing she wouldn't follow me. She knew I wouldn't answer any more questions today. I hurried toward Central Command, I still had quite a bit of time left for my break but I wanted to check in and see if anything new had arrived from Drachma. A few teenagers hanging out in an alleyway smoking cigarettes examined me as I walked by. Most were either my age or slightly older. The uniform is most likely what caught their attention, it usually is. I practically ran all the way back to base, bypassing checking on the Drachmans and slamming into the office.

I sank into my chair with a sigh of relief. At Mustang's questioning look I just shook my head.

"Remind me to never go out again."


	23. Chapter 23

A day off. I was being forced to take a day off. Three actually. In a row. No scheming, no working, no thinking. If it hadn't been Riza spearheading the whole deal I would have blown a gasket. As it was I was probably doomed die of boredom. I'd already relived the last season of Doctor Who in my head, spent an hour crying over never seeing Capaldi's Doctor in action, and another hour brainstorming theories over what the hell happened to Gallifrey. And it wasn't even lunch yet.

I wandered through the halls of my mind, bored to pieces, looking for something to entertain me. I ended up in the Alchemy section, going over the various circles that I'd seen but never worked out before. I didn't understand the human transmutation circle for one. Don't get me wrong, I know what it does. Not fucking stupid. But I didn't know _how _it did it. Probably a good thing in the end. There was also the weird herbology style alchemy that those guys pretending to be Edward and Alphonse used in the first series. But I didn't feel like having to weed a garden out of my living room if things went wrong. Or right, really depends on your point of view. Then there's Mustangs fire alchemy. Oh, I want that. I want it bad. But I couldn't ever use it.

To use it would be to admit that I had gone behind his back, and stolen his personal brand of alchemy from him. His alchemy defined him, empowered him, enabled him. It was key to his personality, and his way of life. To steal that from him, even in a small way he may never find out about rankled me. I would always have the information on file. I would always have the option of going back to study it. But, for now, I would have to deal with just finding my own kickass way of fighting using alchemy. But I'm shit at creativity a lot of the time. So it's a good thing I've archived most of the pop culture in existence. I'm sure Television has something for me to use.

First to start is Avengers. Hammer? No, I'm a wimp with ridiculously skinny arms. Arc Reactor? No, can't even begin to fathom that shit. Super soldier serum? No, again, no idea how. Not to mention I would look ridiculous if I was that buff. Gamma radiation? Definitely not. Not fucking with that shit under any circumstances. Plus, not the most versatile of weapons. Or stealthiest.

Supernatural maybe? Yeah, no. Rock salt and holy water wouldn't do shit here.

Star Trek? Phasers are cool. But I have a gun anyway, soooo... File the transporter away for later perusal.

Harry Potter? This sort of is magic...I could put circles on a stick and wave it around like a wand but that really won't do me much good. Well, it'd make me look psychotic, but I can manage that well enough on my own, anyway.

Eragon? Well, Inheritance Cycle if you're being specific. That's a no as well. No ancient language, no conceivable way to _make _one. Also, no way to make dragons. Well, chimeras...shelve that thought for later. Just make sure there are no humans in the mix. Like, ever. Maybe mix in a cat, just for the brain. Those things are always clever. Then again, I _like _kitties…

Artemis Fowl? Ooooh, lots of potential there. Lots and lots of tech. Most of it was impossible really, but with alchemy... maybe. Bio bombs would always be utter last resort. Not touching those yet. Blue rinses freak me out. The concept of them at least.

Percy Jackson? I could have a pen turn into a weapon using a transmutation, but conservation of matter, or equivalent exchange as it's called here, would give me a shit weapon unless I had a philosophers stone, and that shit isn't happening.

Abhorsen? Necromancers and dead people everywhere. Not really what I want to add to this anime thanks. But the bells with each tone being of different abilities was a neat idea...using the sound as a weapon...sound?

Sonic Screwdriver. I still had that on my list of 'shit to build'. I could research a 'weapon setting' today, and build the whole thing tomorrow. Well, I could buy the materials, and then start. I'd need food too. I had no food. I mean nothing. The only thing in my fridge was a half a case of beer that Jean hadn't finished off before he left, and two carrots. The carrots had been bought orange. They were green when I last looked. If I give them a sufficient electrical shock they may come alive. But I have enough fucking homunculi to deal with, thank you, those carrots can fucking stay dead.

* * *

I swung the door to my apartment open, shopping bags hanging perilously from my arms.

"Lucy, I'm home!"

"I always thought you lived alone?"

I dropped my bags with an undignified shriek, hand going to my gun in my panic. Or, where my gun should be at least. I didn't carry it when I was off duty and dressed like a civilian. The person who scared the ever living shit out of me stepped into the light. Jean Havoc grinned at me, civilian button up and blue jeans looking out of place on him.

"Miss me?"

I threw the closest textbook at him, forcing him to duck.

"You didn't even bother to tell me you were leaving! I marched into Mustangs office to offer to take the state exam so your treatment would be accepted as medically viable, but noooo, you just had to fucking skip town!"

It occurred to me then, he hadn't contacted me since he left. What was he doing here?

I narrowed my eyes, examining him, looking for flaws in a disguise.

"What was the first thing I ever said to you?"

He took my suspicion in metaphorical stride, rolling his eyes as he remembered the words.

"'Cry Havoc! And let loose the hounds of war.' I still don't understand the reference."

I relaxed slightly, gathering my shopping from the floor where I had dropped it and setting it down on the counter in the kitchen.

"It's a damn shame too, military regime putting a damper on most of the literary potential of this place. Real bummer. I told Mustang already, you people need a new old guy in charge, this one is broken."

"What, did your country have a better government?"

Fucking duh. At least they weren't actively trying to kill off everyone. I think. I hope.

"Perhaps. It was a democracy."

"Democracy?"

I paused in putting the groceries away, surely they knew this stuff. Surely. There had to be the theory of it in there somewhere. Then again, if the dimensional differences were taken into account, the whole 'alchemy instead of chemistry' could very well translate to 'sparta instead of Athens'. Huh. Maybe it was just Jean, he doesn't strike me as the studious type anyway.

I turned toward him, raising an eyebrow, deciding to test the waters.

"A government, by the people for the people."

Slightly blank expression. Well, might as well step on _all _the butterflies while I'm at it.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I let him stew on that, shoving a box of crackers into the cabinet, moving on to the fridge in order to toss him a beer. I was grabbing a soda for myself when he spoke again,

"What's all this about?"

I turned around, popping the top off my soda, and saw him pointing at the mass of wires and small metal pieces that would hopefully end up as my sonic screwdriver. I set the drink down, holding up a small piece of wire to the light, checking the end before putting it back, continuing on to the other pieces.

"This is my baby. The ultimate of all my projects. One of the very legends of my home come to life."

"A legend? Like, a legendary weapon?"

I snorted,

"Yeah, no. This hero doesn't use weapons. He was of the opinion that if you carry no weapons, people see you mean no harm and never hurt you. Nine times out of ten."

"What was he called?"

And wasn't that the kicker? 'Nobody fucking knows!' doesn't really come across as a good answer. Then again, should I tell him? Doctor Who is a part of the other dimension. It's a big part of my coding in some areas. And my references no one understands. It can't hurt, to share this small piece of me, of my past.

"He was called the Doctor. He was...wonderful."

I put the last piece down, whirling around to face Jean, clapping my hands together,

"Right! Not that I don't love it when you visit, but why are you in my house?"

"This is an apartment."

"Not the fucking point Jean, get with the program here. What's up?"

He shuffled his feet, refusing to look me in the eye and practically radiating embarrassment.

"Well, you see, Roy kinda wanted me in town just in case because of some things that have been happening lately, and I can't be seen with him at the moment and it was known before that I hung out with you anyway, so…."

I rolled my eyes, pointing to the living room area.

"You know where the spare blankets are. Couch is yours, it's a pullout bed anyway, unless I don't come home by 9, then feel free to take the bed because I'm either not coming home or I won't make past the living room anyway."

I whirled back to face the kitchen, frowning slightly.

"You should have said something before I went shopping. Now who knows what the hell I'll come up with to feed the both of us with what I've got available."

He turned comically pale, stuttering

"D-don't bother. I already ate. On-on the train, yeah. I ate on the train. Um, goodnight!"

He rushed out of the room, slamming the door to the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes, grumbling to myself as I settled back to working on my sonic again.

"The casserole moves one time and suddenly my cooking can't be trusted…"


	24. Chapter 24

I was tinkering on my radio the next morning when Jean stumbled out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, hair still wet from the shower. He blearily sank into a chair, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"What's wrong with your radio?"

"...it short-circuited."

"...Why?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"...I don't think so."

"Then don't ask."

I had been testing a component circle for my Sonic Screwdriver and the waves had reacted in a way I hadn't initially suspected possible. By which I mean they bounced fucking everywhere until they found something electronic to fuck up. It was exciting in the fact that there was a realm of possibility to this, but it was still annoying that my radio was now vegtabalized. Kind of like cannibalized, only it was a vegetable. Shut up, it's funny to me at least.

I must have been scowling at my own pathetic inner joke because Jean waved a hand in front of me,

"Hey there short stuff, what's the issue?"

I tossed down my screwdriver, the normal one, and picked up a piece of chalk to wave threateningly as I ranted.

"The issue here is that no one is this thrice damned country has any idea about acoustical engineering, or dimensional theory. I have absolutely no one to bounce ideas off of, and I don't even have anywhere to research it because no one bothered to write it down if they ever found it before!"

"Then why are you bothering with it?"

I glared at him,

"Oh, so since there was once no such thing as medicine everyone should have given up because it was difficult and they didn't have anywhere to look for answers? Of course not. I'm not going to give up, I just need to bitch every now and then or I'll blow up."

He sighed, getting up from the table and pouring a cup of coffee from the pot I had started when he got into the shower. Once he had downed half of it he filled the cup back up and then sat back down, bracing himself.

"Alright, hit me with it. I'll be your sounding board. So long as you don't expect actual answers."

I looked at him critically for a second. Usually I just talked to myself to get me through this. But then again, Sherlock talked to that skull, but he did better when he talked to John instead, so…

I shrugged,

"All right, we'll try this."

I thought for a second,

"I'll not really sure where to begin, or how to explain the in between, so you'll just have to make do with learning of the end. I'm trying to bend sound, and space. Maybe time later on, but that's not really important at the moment."

He spluttered,

"Bending time? I'd call that pretty damn important!"

I waved my hand, dismissing his words.

"Nah, time is the easy part once you get thinking of it. Space is significantly harder."

He flailed his hands around, anime aura of disbelief permeating the air.

"What do you mean time is the easy part?"

I glared until he settled down a little.

"You, make a terrible wall to bounce ideas off of."

I glanced at the clock, trying to put my thoughts into words he might understand. Not that he's stupid, he isn't, but this isn't something words do well to convey.

"Time is, well, it doesn't exist."

I could see another outburst coming on so I held up a hand and just kept talking.

"No, just listen for a second. Time doesn't exist in the technical meaning of existence. Existence is the fact or state of living, as far as I've been able to determine, time isn't alive, but I'll probably think on that later. As it is, time is a 'dimension', the fourth dimension to be exact. The other dimensions are characterized by the number of points it takes to create whatever is housed inside of it, or along it, depending on what you're talking about."

I took a breath and tried to gauge how glazed his eyes were.

"Without delving too far into string theory, all I can say is that time can't really be defined. It can't be seen, or touched, or tasted, but it touches us, and breaks us down. It breaks everything down in the end, and will be the only thing left standing when everything is gone, but that brings to mind the sort of question like 'if a tree falls and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?'. If no one and no single thing is there to feel the passage of time, and be affected by it, then does time still exist? Do the seconds still go by? So, no. Time doesn't 'exist', it does not live, it does not interact. It cannot be understood. But it can be re-written, if you're clever enough, apparently."

I motioned to the half drawn circles on the scattered papers around the table.

"Now, what I'm doing here has an itty bit to do with that. I want a dimension. Not like, evil overlord style, I just want a small bit of space to fit into an even smaller bit of space. Which will be infinitely easier with alchemy, because I have one-dimensional circles to act in the place of what should be clunky bits of hardware as big as my head. Some circles won't be good enough, though. I will need to find a way to validate superstring theory, and find 11 dimensions, then not really _create _my own, but just insert a bubble of space in between other space where it has no right to really be, but keep it there and stable."

I glanced up at Jean and the blank expression was just so perfect. I resolved to frame it for the living room of my mind palace. He stood up slowly, walking to the coffee.

"I need more caffeine for this."


	25. Chapter 25

Going back to work after three straight days of next to absolute nothing was in some ways brilliant, and in other ways disappointing. Brilliant because I was BACK! But disappointing because I had to leave Jean behind. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him until he returned. I realized I was trying to use him as a replacement for Taylor, I knew enough about psychology and myself to get that, but I didn't particularly care. My flesh and blood brother was out of my reach, and Jean didn't mind standing in. I wasn't going to read further into it, why try to guilt trip myself?

Realizing I had missed Mustang, _that _was different. I missed the slavedriver, of all people. Not June from the front desk, Ricky from the Drachman sector, or even Armstrong. Mustang. Yeah, this guy needs to stop using his looks as a weapon.

I walked through the door only to be hit with a charming smile worthy of Narcissus himself.

Mustang practically beamed at me,

"Stephanie!"

Annnnd, he uses my name in the voice, too. Someone put a leash on him. Oh, bad thoughts.

But I had a reputation to uphold so I scowled,

"Turn it down a notch, buddy."

He visibly wilted,

"I'm losing my touch."

I snorted,

"Implying you used to have it in the first place, my my, now you're delusional, too."

He hit his head against the desk, groaning.

"Jean will never let me live this down."

"I doubt he'd bother you about it."

He looked up at me hopefully as I took off my coat and settled in at my desk.

"So you'll lie to him for me?"

I raised an eyebrow at him over my soda,

"Nope. But he believes I'm asexual anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Roy dissolved into laughter, it took him several minutes to compose himself enough to ask,

"Is that what he told himself after everyone told said he couldn't possibly be dating you?"

I paused for a second, considering the possibility of that before shrugging.

"Perhaps. From how he explained it to me it's because I'm young and I live alone and don't care to date or pay attention to anyone who's 'flirting' with me."

Roy huffed in amusement,

"Because you're so damn oblivious that you don't even notice."

I perked up a bit,

"Yeah, that's what he said, too."

My phone rang before he could reply, and my work day began. It was exactly as I feared. Just like when you miss a single day of high school when there shouldn't have been anything you were missing anyway, it somehow still takes 3 or more weeks to get all of the makeup shit done. Juggling all of the paperwork with all of the extra stuff I was trying to slip through to Drachma was difficult beyond reason. I was correct in telling Jean that if I didn't arrive home by 9 I wouldn't make it to the bed. Sometimes I sat down at the table to finish up some paperwork and fell asleep there. I would wake up and Jean had already made the coffee, bless him.

I got calls at work from Elysia and Gracia who were so happy to hear from me on one of my off days that they wouldn't let me sink back into obscurity. I started to have phone calls from them with the same regularity as Maes used to, and Jane at the front desk didn't bother to heckle me the same way she did him, no matter how long I talked before I went back to work. She only flashed me a sad, nostalgic smile before going back to her own work.

I couldn't wait until this was over. All of it. Everything that happened in the anime, all of the plot. I wanted to bring Hughes home, I wanted the boys to have their bodies back, I wanted Mustang to stop being so wary of fucking everything. When he thought no one was looking he would sag with the weight of it all. The look in his eyes at those moments is hopeless, with a hint of desperation. If I were anyone else it would be gone before it could be identified, replaced with determination and confidence. But I'm me, and I usually see what's meant to be hidden, because I can go back and stare at it and detect it long after the moment is actually gone.

So in the absence of Hughes I dedicated everything I had to his best friend. When he started looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders I distracted him with references he didn't understand and told embarrassing stories of the shit Jean had been up to that he would rather the Colonel not hear about. Every laugh, every smile, it was a small victory.

Sometimes I'm useless. I can't march up to Briggs and help the Elric brothers fight bears and homunculi. I'm weak. I can wield a gun, I can run away. I'm not a fighter in the literal sense of the word and I never will be. But I watch and I listen, and I _know_. I put what I know to good use, even if that means letting it 'slip' to someone who has the authority to do something with it. But sometimes there's nothing I can do. Nothing I can think of that will change anything. I plot for hours, writing in my version of Gallifreyan, coded in Russian and through on to English. It's second nature, and no one even looks twice at it, assuming it's alchemy. I'm always confident that my plans are safe, and my ideas hidden.

But when I look up and the Fuhrer is examining a circle I've only just sketched, I feel fear. Real fear. I realize that what I've taken for being afraid has been nothing compared to this. Knees shake, blood pumps, and time slows. Then my impossible brain catches up with everything and I'm standing, saluting, letting military protocol take over.

"Sir!"

He laughs, playing the grandfatherly role everyone expects of him.

"No, no. Don't worry Sergeant, I can tell you were absorbed into what you were doing. Interested in alchemy, are you?"

What do you know? What does that eye of yours see? Can you transcend three languages? Can you look through the best coding my mind can up with? Does a dimensional wall not even stop what you? Or do you _not _know? Am I safe?

I laugh sheepishly, still in parade rest and feel myself blushing. Good, assume it's embarrassment, ignore the fact that I'm scared nearly out of my wits.

"Oh, well. It's interesting, yes."

"Ah, any chance I'll have another brilliant State Alchemist on my hands?"

My brain doesn't stop for a second, running through my suspicions, cataloging worries for later. I know this is dangerous. I know I could die if he decides I'm an issue. So I do what I've come to do best since I came here. I play the fool. I pretend. I lie. I was once so opposed to lies, just on principle, but for these guys, I'll make an exception.

"No sir, sorry sir. I'm really not the best at alchemy. We didn't have it back home, so I didn't start it early enough for most of it to stick. Most of the basic laws of science we had I'm finding out are wrong. I can't rewire my brain to accept things so drastically different like that. These aren't even real circles if you look close enough. I just find them pretty, really."

He laughed, playing up his part to the fullest.

"Yes, I had noticed earlier but didn't want to mention it, some of those circles indeed make no sense. But you are right, they are very pretty."

I ducked my head slightly, smiling sheepishly.

He turned to Mustang, who was watching him warily, standing ramrod straight at the doorway to his inner office that he rarely used anymore, preferring to work at Jean's desk opposite me.

"Colonel! Just the man I was looking for. I had some things to discuss with you, if you don't mind, about our Fullmetal Alchemist's little project."

Roy nodded stiffly, eyes flickering to me for only a second.

"Sergeant Arcaro, why don't you check in with the the translations office. I'm through with you here for the day."

I looked between the two men, snapping a salute once the Fuhrer nodded in acknowledgment. Not that I cared what the man thought, but he was officially my superior officer, and I had to at least pretend that I took his orders seriously. I rapidly packed away my things, throwing on my military issue black coat and my shoulder bag from my home dimension. I gave Riza a casual smile as I passed her where she stood stiffly in the doorway, waiting on Bradley.

I did as Roy suggested and headed to translations. The Drachman crew cried tears of joy when they saw me, as always. I took more than half the work from all of them and settled down. I had thought about using reverse psychology, reporting exactly what they didn't need so that they would get what they actually needed, but at the moment I would need evidence to go before a tribunal later to help get rid of most the upper echelon of the military that wasn't taken down when Edward Elric was done with it. Every time my mind tried to stray to whatever Bradley was doing with Mustang and Riza I shook myself, determined to ignore it. I could do nothing about it. There was no way I was trying one of my listening circles while Bradley was there. Who knew what that eye of his could follow. For all I knew he could leave the room and trace the alchemy all the way back to me.

* * *

Arriving at home that evening I did something I had never done before. I considered running from it all. Leaving Amestris to its own devices. I knew that things would eventually end up okay-ish at the least. There were other countries out there. I could get by on medical alchemy, become a doctor in some small town like Marcoh, minus the miracle stone. It was so tempting. To just stop risking my life, to leave all of the danger behind and just sink into anonymity. In the other dimension, it never would have been possible, what with all the technology floating around and my own lack of means. But not here. Here I had alchemy.

But I also had friends now. I couldn't do that to them. I couldn't leave them to fight for themselves. Yes, I had already saved Hughes, but what if my leaving caused him to show up and get himself killed anyway? Deserting Roy now, after he had learned he could depend on me even a little would crush some part of him, even if he would act unaffected. And Alphonse. The gentle giant, sweetest person who ever lived. I couldn't betray the trust he was always insisting to people that they give me. Last but not least there was Edward. His fate had always annoyed me in the first series, and from what Taylor had told me I couldn't allow an end like that to happen, even if this seemed to follow Brotherhood. He was friendly to me now, trusting me enough that he was going to explain what he'd done, explain his mistake, tell me what he was searching for. Trusted me enough that he would drag me to the mountains to watch his back while monstrous bears and foreign threats ran abound.

So, no. I can't run. I can't hide. I can't be selfish. I have to stick to this. I can't get this far and then quit because things got a little scary. Okay, very scary. Terrifying actually. But I wasn't alone, not really. Even if I couldn't ever explain where I was really from, what I really knew, and how I knew it, I would always have allies.

Jean's hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality, and I realized I had been sitting in the kitchen with my head down on the table for over an hour.

"You okay Steph?"

I sat up, breathing in slowly, and then letting it out. I turned to look at him, smiling slightly.

"Yeah. Everything's fine."

I trailed my eyes over my sonic screwdriver. I'd never forgive myself if I walked away now. What kind of Whovian would I be to abandon people like this? WWDD. What would the Doctor do? He'd waltz up to the bad guy and kick their asses. Since that's really not an option for me I'll have to settle for being clever. Or bluffing. That's always a good plan B.

I turned back to Jean with grin,

"So, that girl at the bakery finally tell you to get lost yet?"

I listened to him splutter and protest, content with my answer. I wasn't leaving. I would see this through to the end, no matter what.


	26. Chapter 26

Two months later and I nearly ended up running anyway. Not out of cowardice, not even really fleeing the country. I nearly faked my own abduction. I had the half-baked plan running through my brain, coming up with at least 27 different ways to make it convincing, some including leaving a traumatized Jean as a witness and unknowing accomplice. None of my plans included bringing him into the fold, he needed plausible deniability for this, just like I did.

I nearly ran because of the orders that came through. I don't know if these orders were in the anime I hadn't finished, but I know that Taylor never mentioned it to me. I needed to pretend I never heard them, never officially received them. Because if no one technically gave them to me then I couldn't get in trouble officially for acting precisely against them. Kind of like being served for court. If they never caught me then I was free, and couldn't be charged for not showing up. Or that's how my aunt made it sound, I have no clue what the law really is about that in my home country. (Liz probably isn't the best example to follow, though, now that I think about it...)

That morning I had gone into the office as usual, then retreated to the Drachman sector for most of the day. When I had returned to my desk with my coat I had glimpsed the orders on Roy's (Jeans) desk, in front of where his head lay in his hands. I had only stepped closer when he didn't respond to my presence, didn't look up, didn't even twitch. I only needed a split second to understand them, upside down or not.

I threw on my coat, shoving everything I might ever need again from the office into my bag from home that I still carried everywhere. I glanced at the time, nowhere near when I would usually leave. I glanced at Roy before continuing to pack my things away.

"I'm leaving early today, it's a holiday back home, there are religious things to take care of."

He looked up at that, expression hidden behind that blank mask he only used when in a political mess.

"Religious stuff? I thought you said-"

"Yeah, I mentioned it earlier, didn't I? Really got to get out of here before I miss the moon rising, would hate to have to spend the next lunar year in hell where I can't help the good red spirit and his faithful silver brother keep away from the devils hiding amongst the blue."

Comprehension was quick in coming, most likely because my hints were obvious. I didn't let him respond, sweeping out the door with a cheery wave. I strode quickly through the halls, explaining away my rush with the same bullshit excuse about the moon and religion in rapid-fire language that didn't require me to stop walking to say. Let them think I was religious, maybe that would add to how much I really couldn't be an alchemist in the Fuhrer's eyes.

I was ridiculously close to freedom. The front gates were in view, and I was close to where I could catch a cab to my apartment. I was stopped by hand to my shoulder, jerking me to a halt. An officer I had never interacted with gave me the orders, and I had to read them and confirm. My heart sank as I let my eyes roam over the words. I let the emotions I had felt earlier show, finally letting them out partly to make this authentic, and partly because this wasn't fair.

My head jerked up to him,

"What is this? How can this be real?"

The man was young, obviously not used to doing this sort of work because he was fidgeting and visibly nervous.

"I don't know Sergeant, we were just told to inform the officers on the list that all contact with the individual was to be cut, and any information to be offered. Apparently, something happened at Briggs fortress that made him a wanted man, something big. It's beyond my pay grade anyway."

I stood up straighter, putting authority in my voice that had him cringing slightly.

"What the hell could possibly happen in what is practically arctic wasteland that would put a BOLO out on the Fullmetal Alchemist?" I scoffed, "Don't answer that, rhetoric seems to be beyond most people in this country."

I glared at the missive, hoping to inspire as much doubt in the hearts of those watching that these orders could be worth anything. Let them know, make them think, have them realize that something is wrong here.

The man spoke up, still looking wary of me.

"Do you acknowledge that-"

I grimaced, waving him off.

"Yes, yes, I acknowledge that I got the orders. I haven't seen him since he said he was going to Briggs. Run along now, you probably have better places to be." I lowered my voice to a mutter, "I know I do."

Glancing around at the crowd as I left one face stuck out. Major General Armstrong watching the show I put on with a blank expression. I let my vision slide off her, not wanting to show recognition. I wasn't supposed to have seen her before, after all. I wondered for a second what she would think of what she just saw. I knew I was walking a thin line by questioning superior officers in front of witnesses. But the witnesses needed to question them also. If someone who was known to be severely dedicated to work, like me, questioned the shit they started doing then maybe, just maybe, we'd have dominos on our hands.

I hurried off in the same manner as before the orders caught up with me. Once I reached home I slammed the papers down on the table right in front of where Jean sat, walking over to the phone, calling behind me with heavy sarcasm.

"Don't read those now, who knows what they'd do to me if a civilian got a hold of bullshit-I mean urgent orders."

I glanced back after dialing to make sure he was reading them, and yup. Face turning purple with outrage. I was about to comment on his blood pressure when the person on the other end of the line picked up. I spoke first,

"Can you connect me with Colonel Mustang?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to require a military ID to connect from an outside line." The overly perky female voice on the other end of the call grated just slightly on my nerves.

"Sure, sure, Theta Echo 221 Bravo."

"...Your code has been verified, please wait while you're connected."

"Thanks."

It was after 8 seconds of elevator-worthy music that I was finally put through. Mustangs deep voice sounding distorted over the phone.

"Arcaro, didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Did you make it in time for that religious thing of yours?"

"No sir, didn't even make it halfway. Looks like I was damned from the start."

"...I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too."

I glanced at the moon outside of the window, sagging against the glass for a second.

"I have half a mind to try it anyway, chance of a more eternal damnation or not."

"...I wouldn't recommend it. Not that I understand your religious practices, but you'd be of more use here than in hell. It's hard to train new officers these days, takes forever to break 'em in."

I snorted,

"Thanks for the advice sir. Don't forget the Johnson work has to go to office 49E before eleven tonight."

The call was ended with the sound of muffled cursing from the other end, leaving me rolling my eyes. He didn't even get creative with his curses. If it's going to be recorded on a military line then you might as well give them something worth blushing over.

I hung up the phone, waving away Jeans enquiring look.

"Don't even ask, I'm not completely sure what just happened either."


	27. Chapter 27

The days at work were tense after the orders for Ed were sent out. I started spending more and more time at work, both to get more done, and to ease suspicion on me. If I never left headquarters then I wasn't rendezvousing with my friend who was now a fugitive. My words got people talking at least. There was skepticism about hunting the 'hero of the people'.

My work with Drachma actually got easier. With more of the higher ups worrying about whatever the hell it was that they were plotting it was infinitely easier to just take over things for them. Most were just glad to see their workloads getting lighter in some areas. I began to weave my way into the foreign relations department, putting different people over certain projects, and cutting others off entirely. It was subtle work, where a single word could make or break me. But I didn't get caught, I wasn't thrown out, I made my way to the top. Relations with Xing were also sketchy, so I messed with those for a bit as a present for Lan Fan.

After I wove the threads of bureaucracy into knots it was simple enough to deal with Drachma myself. Oh, I didn't put my name on missives, I signed it as 'Amestrian Representative'. Anonymity was my friend in this. I escalated trade, putting many of their requests through loopholes and calling in favors. I had healed most of the damage my presence caused in under 4 weeks, and was moving further forward. Now that we weren't coming across as bitchy they were much more willing to deal with us. While my work wasn't known, it was noted that I was doing something and an awful lot of it.

I got a promotion to 2nd Lieutenant, the same rank Jean had 'retired' at. Riza took me out to lunch as a congratulations, only this time to somewhere much closer to command, and for this I was grateful. Often when getting dressed in the mornings I would stare at the new uniform and wonder. I would wonder what people thought when they saw me, tiny but bedecked in military blue and gold, gun at my side. I felt a lot like a child playing soldier, and I had to squash the feeling before it stole away all of my confidence.

Jean was miserable staying at my apartment all of the time, and I suggested to Roy that he be allowed to go home for a while but the idea was shot down.

"We could be in the middle of a civil war at any moment, Lieutenant. I need all the able men possible at my back ."

So I broke down and bought a TV. It was ancient, but it was television. Nothing on Doctor Who or Sherlock, but they had some decent soaps. Well, that's what I gathered by how much Jean talks smack at it,

"Don't go to him Clarise! He stole the child! No, Clar-No, don't-its, ahck!"

I managed to convince Roy to let Havoc get employment at a bookstore not far from where I lived, if only so he could get out of the house and not feel so much like a freeloader. I also enjoyed the employee discount he got.

There was only one issue, ever, with Jean living with me, and that is when he answered my phone. I was in the kitchen, one of the few days I got home early enough to cook, making one of the few soups I could get right. I didn't worry about it until there was yelling. I dropped the carrots, picking up my gun from the table as I made my way closer to Jean, paying attention to what he was saying.

"Who are you?! How dare you pretend to be him! Why are you calling this number? How did you get it? What do you mean 'Stephanie gave it to you'?"

I snatched to phone away from him,

"Hello?"

A relieved sigh came from the other end,

"Hey there, the grass is looking lovely this time of year, huh? So green."

I snorted, eyeing Jean warily,

"Yeah, too bad about the heat, though. I could fry bacon on my couch if I left the window open."

Code words exchanged, green and bacon. I literally just choose the first words that pop into my head for this.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Why is Jean answering your phone?"

"He's staying here at the moment, why did he flip the fuck out when he answered my phone?"

Jean cut in angrily,

"Because it's that homunculus, pretending to be Hughes! I know his voice, and that's it!"

I raised an eyebrow,

"Or it's not a homunculus. Can we pretend, for like, 5 seconds that I know what I'm doing and did not give one of the bad guys my phone number? Okay...I don't know how to explain this."

There was a rustle on the other end of the line and I heard the phone change hands. Edwards cheerfully chimed in,

"Sergeant! Look who I found again!"

"That's Lieutenant now. And where, pray tell, are the two of you hiding while one of you is dead and the other on the lam?"

"Ummm, well, you see…"

The phone was snatched back and Maes spoke.

"We broke into a house while this one guy is on a business trip so we could use the phone. There's also more than two of us. Edward picked up minions! Big minions! Chimera minions!"

"...Chimera?"

Hughes calmed immediately at my tone.

"Not like Nina, Steph. These guys are on a whole other level, more like the guys from Dublith, with Greed."

"Dublith? Where Edward and Alphonse went to see their teacher? Is Greed another Homunculus?"

By now Jean was turning colors,

"What the hell is going on here!"

I sighed into the phone,

"Give me a second guys."

I pulled my prototype sonic from my pocket, giving it a loving smile before pointing it to the main body of the phone, pressing down buttons and lighting a certain combination of alchemic arrays. There was a crackle and that lovely sound the Sonic screwdriver makes paired with the ring of alchemy. I set the phone back on the table,

"Can you hear me?"

There was a beat of silence and then Maes voice was sounding through the air.

"Yeah, why? Something wrong with the line?"

"Nah, I just invented speakerphone 20 ish years too early. Don't worry about it. Jean close your mouth, you look like a fish. Say high to Maes, Edward, and dos chimeras. Maes, Edward, and dos chimeras, say hello to Jean."

There was a chorus of 'hi' from the other end and Jean floundered, closing his mouth with an audible click.

"So, Maes…."

I nodded,

"Is on the other end of the telephone. Consider this beyond classified, 'kay?"

He struggled for words, conflict visible on his face.

"But Maes is dead! I saw it! I saw his body! You saw it! You found him, you-"

"I faked his death." I said bluntly. "Really, after the medical magic I pulled with your spine you really shouldn't be all that surprised with this."

"So you-you, brought him back! That's-that's taboo! You can't-"

I interrupted him again,

"The dead don't come back to life. 'Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music, and death a note unsaid.' Langston Hughes. No relation to our Hughes, of course, but true enough. I wouldn't mess with the balance like that. Where I'm from it's pounded in pretty hard that death is the end. I didn't bring him back, I simply gave him the tools to survive and helped him fake his death so that those that were after him wouldn't even realize that they had failed. This involved complex alchemy, and lying to everyone we know. Sorry about that by the way."

Maes spoke up, voice distorted slightly through the phone,

"That vest of yours is brilliant. It even deflects punches, and helps prevent bruises, too!"

"Show it to Ed, he'll prolly be able to whip up something like it for everyone there, and spares are never really a bad thing. Make it into underwear for all I care, just stay in one piece."

"We'll be laying low for a little while, Edward is already sure that Roy has plans set up for Promised Day, as well. We don't know where Al went off to but we're sure that Winry is safe at the moment. That's as far as this status report goes. Has Roy trusted you with anything yet?"

I snorted,

"Nope, he still thinks I'm clueless. Honestly, that would have been a recipe for disaster. I would have tried to fix things on my own, and we would have butted heads in the dark on several black ops type missions."

Maes sighed, sending static across the line,

"Yeah, well, he can be stubborn, just give him time."

"Stephanie?"

Edward sounded tentative, the most hesitant I had ever encountered him.

"When we see you next, either Al or I, in person, there's something we wanted to tell you about. The reason we've been looking for the philosophers stone, and how we discovered all of this."

"You don't have to tell me anything, Edward." _Because I already know. _"You guys don't owe me anything." _It feels like betrayal to know without being told, but I can't help it._ "Just worry about saving all of our asses and you guys can tell me whatever you feel like once all of this is over. Maybe I'll even explain exactly what led up to me being here." _If I can find a way to make you guys believe me. _"If you guys need money just take it from that account I gave Maes, I added more onto it Thursday, it should be enough to last you for another two weeks."

"You don't have to be our pocketbook for this, Stephanie, I could probably transmute something that could get us along."

"And draw attention to yourselves? I think not. Let me help. Besides, it's not like I need any of this. I don't pay for a family, I don't buy anything but food, and I live in military furnished housing, so I don't pay utilities. Like this it looks like I'm investing, albeit badly. Think of yourselves as my accomplices in dodging taxes."

Once our goodbyes were said and I calibrated the phone back to normal I turned to Jean, who was sitting quietly in the middle of couch, just watching me. I sat down on the arm of the couch, waiting for him to speak.

"...I have to tell the Colonel."

"No, you don't."

"Damnit, Stephanie, this is his best friend! Maes death _destroyed _Roy! And to think he's been alive this whole time-"

"Okay fine, you can't tell him _yet_. The military is watching the Colonel, and closely. We can't tell him Maes is alive because then they would find out. I'm not watched, and I'm clever, so that line is untraceable, so long as you connect from a civilian line no one knows what was said. Connected to military lines, everything is recorded on their side of course, but we always talk in ridiculous codes anyway. There is no way to discreetly tell him that will both convince him of the validity of it, and keep Maes safe. So we leave it. Once all of this is over, then by all means tell him. Until then keeping Maes alive until this revelation is our main goal."

Jean buried his face in hands for a second, before laughing. I waited for a second, wondering if I broke him.

"Of course he's alive. Maes was your favorite, and you _are _so clever, of course you wouldn't let him die."

I went back to the soup, leaving him giggling and mumbling under his breath. Yeah, I definitely broke him.


	28. Chapter 28

I was hesitant to leave Jean alone after the revelation about Hughes, but I had to report to work. It was only after I extracted a solemn vow of silence over the matter that I felt comfortable leaving. I arrived at work five minutes later than usual because of this, which is around 20 minutes early for normal people. I walked through the door to the office only to be accosted by Roy, turning me around checking for wounds, talking all the while.

"Did you run into trouble on the way here? Were you attacked? Was it thieves, civilians, homunculi?!"

I extracted myself from his grip, dropping my bag on my desk,

"Slow your roll, there buddy. I'm fine, just got caught up in talking to Jean on my way out the door."

He relaxed visibly, sinking into his chair and running a hand over his face.

He asked distractedly, "What does that mean anyway? 'Slow your roll'? You always use the strangest expressions."

I dug a pen out to start on the plethora of work that graced my desk, barely looking up,

"It's a reference to the drug methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, known on the streets as 'Ecstasy'. It's a psychoactive drug that results in a feeling of euphoria. It's ridiculously addictive and prolonged use basically melts the brain. The phrase 'slow your roll' comes from the concept of slowing down how many 'rolls', or how much of the drug you're using, most likely because the one the phrase is directed at is using enough that it can be seen as more immediately detrimental to their health. In this case, it's meant as 'slow down and breathe'."

It was silent for several seconds and I looked up to see Roy staring at me,

"Do I need to worry about this drug anytime soon?"

I shrugged, going back to my work.

"I don't think so, seeing as I'm the only one in your country who could possibly synthesize it, and I don't really feel like becoming a drug lord today."

His head hit the desk with a thud and I tsked,

"That isn't good for your health, Colonel, you're killing brain cells you can never grow back."

Muffled cursing came from his side of the room and I just smiled, business as usual, then.

* * *

We worked until lunch, throwing around snarky comments about the officers who'd had the paperwork before us. Time flies when you're being sarcastic. We were only halfway through our respective meals when there was a knock at the door and it opened before we could say anything. A young Sergeant stepped in, saluting the room at large,

"I apologize for the interruption, but Lieutenant Arcaro is needed in the Drachman sector as soon as possible."

I sighed, throwing away the remains of my chicken salad and downing the rest of my soda before standing and straightening my uniform.

"Lead the way, Sergeant Branson."

He started a little, looking uncertain.

"I-I didn't say my name, Lieutenant."

I rolled my eyes, motioning to the door.

"I'm aware of that. However, you were introduced to me 7 months ago when you started at the Drachman sector. I make a point to know my co-worker's names. Off we go, wouldn't want to keep those northerners waiting."

Our walk there was mostly silent, with Branson walking in front and glancing back every few seconds. Part of me wanted to demand to know what the hell he was looking at, the other was afraid the twitchy little guy would collapse if I spoke at all.

When we arrived he opened the door for me which I acknowledged with a small smile and a nod. I stepped fully into the room and nearly froze at the sight before me, not even twitching when the door clicked shut behind me. Major General Olivier Armstrong sat in the center of the room at a large table, all workstations pushed against the wall out of her way. There was a strange chill filling the air, the very definitive aura of 'bad feeling'. She examined me with hooded eyes, not speaking. I had saluted the moment I recognized the uniform as being higher-ranking than mine, with my weird cognition skills it probably seemed like pretty impressive reaction timing.

After several moments of tense silence, Armstrong motioned to the chair opposite her.

"Sit."

I sat, eyes not leaving her face, carefully analyzing everything I saw there. Which was nada. That woman has the poker face of all poker faces. She could probably out gamble a Vulcan. If Vulcans gamble, which for some reason seems doubtful.

She pushed a file toward me, sliding it across the desk.

"I've looked through some of your work, you're good at Drachman, very good….Where did you learn it?"

I looked up from the lines of Russian, meeting her eyes unflinchingly, secure in the fact that I wasn't lying.

"I learned it from my Aunt, who learned it when she was traveling with a performing arts group. She found it amusing to be able to speak with my brother and I in front of people without them being aware of what we were talking about."

"You learned an entire language in order to mess with people's minds." It was more statement than question so I shrugged stiffly.

"It was an easy language."

She looked supremely unconvinced but continued on anyway.

"Ranking officers have already shown their thanks for your hard work in applying your unique skills, but I would like to question the why of it. So, foreigner, why?"

Oooo, because playing the foreigner card was sooo original *Sarcastic as Hell*.

I kept my tone even and slightly uninterested.

"Well, Major General, I do the best job that I can no matter what it is I'm doing. It's simply part of my personality type to give my all to whatever catches my fancy."

"And Amestris has caught your fancy?"

I raised an eyebrow,

"Permission to speak freely, mam?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly,

"Granted."

I snorted in response to her earlier question and slouched slightly in my seat to get more comfortable, tossing military propriety out the window.

"Amestris did not catch my fancy. 'Amestris' is an idea, the lines drawn on the map, and the word tagged to the people who live within those lines. When I got here I was faced with a few choices, some of which were made _for _me. In the meantime, I found people worth following and they are the ones that caught my fancy."

"So if the leader of the Amestrian military handed down orders that wouldn't be part of your 'fancy'?"

I sensed dangerous territory but I knew who Armstrong allied with in the end so I shrugged, letting my eyes bore into hers.

"I follow the orders of my superiors like every other soldier, but I can't turn off the habits instilled in me by my home country. This includes the rights of free expression. I'm used to being able to call bullshit on whatever a government tells me. Because of this, I have to rely on the judgment of others to know what's normal here and what isn't, what's acceptable and what's treasonous, what's safe and what's dangerous. There are few who I accept the direct guidance of."

"...and who might those people be?"

I grinned lazily,

"Why, my superior officers of course. Major Edward Elric, the late Brigadier General Maes Hughes, and Colonel Roy Mustang."

I saw a glimmer of something in her eyes that I couldn't identify. I made a mental note to examine it later.

"Interesting." She fell silent for several seconds and I wondered if she was going to continue. Finally, she did.

"It was brought to my attention by someone higher ranking than me that you value little in this world that you can not carry on your person. One of those things is a ring that can be seen attached to your dog tags. I was instructed to ask what is so valuable about it."

I didn't tense, but it was a close thing. Obviously, this meeting wasn't all for her own curiosity and anyone left alive in Central who outranked Olivier Armstrong was on the side of Bradley.

I pulled out the ring, showing it to her, and examining it myself. I hadn't worn it since I'd started basic training, too afraid to shatter the bones in my hand if I needed to throw a quick punch.

"It's what is called a 'class ring' in my country. You may have something similar here, but I haven't come across it. When someone approaches graduation at a 'higher institute' of learning they are presented with a ring like this, usually customized to fit them. Mine has my full name on the inside, the instrument I play on one side, and a sort of family crest on the other. The stone is my birthstone, an Opal. Expensive as hell, but pretty enough to be worth it, usually."

She nodded, eyes sharp on the stone,

"The one who gave me orders knows the stone must be valuable to be kept so close to your person. They have authorized me to offer large amounts of the stone for your cooperation in a...personal project of theirs regarding one of those men you mentioned before. For very little effort you can earn for yourself a river of 'opals'."

I raised an eyebrow,

"What would I do with precious gems? I'm a soldier, mam, I don't have a use for even this ring other than sentimental value. It meant something where I'm from, but that's about it. I don't care for riches, hell, I don't know what to do with half of the money I already have. I'm not interested in any private projects right now, I already have enough on my plate that I need to focus on. As interesting as I'm sure it would be, I'd rather not risk it."

Her face was blank as ever as she nodded.

"Dismissed then, Arcaro."

I saluted, then tucked away my dog tags and swept out the door, passing Branson without a word.

I walked swiftly back to the office, sinking into my chair with a sigh of relief when I finally got there. Mustang eyed me warily,

"Problems in Drachma?"

I laughed breathily,

"Nothing like that. The ice queen just propositioned me on behalf of Satan, that's all."

He didn't bother asking about the references, just watching silently as I laughed slightly hysterically. Once I calmed down he pointed to a stack of papers near my left elbow.

"If you're finished losing your mind you can work on those, they're due by 8."

I winced at the 'losing your mind' part, pushing back further hysteria.

"Yes, sir."

There would be plenty of time to finish my descent into insanity later, for now, there was paperwork to do.


	29. Chapter 29

I turned the paperwork in on time without any more hysteria and managed to keep from descending into insanity while at work. Once I got home was a completely different matter.

Jean as watching television when I walked in, feet propped up on the coffee table. I didn't even look his way, didn't take off my jacket, left on my shoes. I collapsed into a seat in the kitchen, letting my head hit the table. I was in the middle of taking a few calming breaths when I realized Jean was talking.

"What?"

Not my greatest of moments but I was stressed and in no mood to be polite about the fact that I wasn't paying a lick of attention to him. He only sighed, pulling my chair back from the desk and forcing me to lift my head.

"I said that we're going out tonight, there's someplace in town that I think you should see."

I groaned, looking down at my boots, wondering if I should even bother to take them off before slipping off to bed.

"Jean, I don't want to go anywhere today.

"You say that every day!"

He spun the chair around to face him slightly, leaning down to get on my level.

"You spend too much time cooped up in here and I'm not going to let you just mope around when you aren't allowed to go to work!"

I glowered, "I do not mope. I angrily rest, there is a difference."

He snorted, "Yeah, sure. Either way, this time, you are going to 'angrily rest' somewhere that isn't here."

I slouched, closing my eyes and tilting my head to lay against the back of the chair.

"Seriously, Jean, not today. Tomorrow maybe."

He huffed and opened his mouth to argue more but I snapped my eyes open and stood to move the chair back where it was supposed to be, startling him into taking a step back. I slipped past him to open the fridge, looking for food.

"This was one of the top five most frightening days of my existence. I do believe the corrupt higher ups tried to bribe me to spy on Roy today."

I watched his reflection in the chrome on the side of the fridge, where his face froze and whatever it was he had prepared died unsaid, leaving behind only concern.

"What did they say? Are you okay? What did _you _say? How did they react?"

I snorted, snapping the fridge closed with my foot and yanking open a cabinet to search there instead.

"I was offered money, gems to be precise. Someone high up on the food chain must buy that stereotype about women and sparkly things. I told them that I was too busy to do any sort of 'extra project' for them and that I had no need for extra cash. I considered doing a spy deal, where I told them that Mustang wasn't up to jack shit except dodging paperwork and being a bastard, getting both money to fund our operations and a sliver of intel for us. However, that would require acting. I'm not the best person to choose for that, and I have no doubt that they have spies who would see through what I was doing in any case. Plus you guys don't really trust foreign 'ole me anyway, no need to exacerbate that."

He struggled for words for a few seconds before flopping into the chair I had just vacated,

"You really thought things through."

I paused in my search, fixing him with a glare,

"Of course, I thought things through. Did you expect me to just accept to save my own hide? Or the other end of the spectrum, was I supposed to yell, clearly declare my allegiances, and flip them the bird with both hands while waltzing out the door? Sorry if finding a semi-comfortable medium upsets your sensitive expectations of the world, want me to go back and tell them to 'go fuck themselves' whilst dancing the cancan?"

He waved his hands in front of him, shaking his head rapidly,

"No, no! This is fine. It's great that you managed to still seem on the fence about things, or at the very least clueless. Roy was probably glad to hear that you were able to keep suspicion away from yourself, he prefers his people to stay safe whenever possible."

I shrugged, turning back to the cabinet. "I didn't tell him."

"What!? Why not!?"

I closed the cabinet door, lowering my standards slightly and opening the fridge again.

"We were in the middle of headquarters, I doubt the office is a safe place to chat about things like that. I could probably do a sweep for bugs, if you guys even have that level of tech yet, which I find myself seriously doubting, but they would notice it was gone and retaliate in some way."

"Bugs?"

I sighed,

"Well, that answers that question. It's more of a street term, a sort of nickname. You've used the earpieces, right? The small kind that work on radio waves, usually short range, and have a small microphone attached somehow?"

I glanced over to see him nod, and turned back to the fridge, finally admitting defeat and pulling out a soda and half a chocolate bar. I collapsed gracelessly into the seat opposite Jean.

"Well it's the same concept, only all it does is pick up sound, maybe video if you get super high tech with it, and it either transmits directly to someone else, records directly, or transmits to a secondary location where it's recorded. They'd be hidden behind a picture frame, under a lamp shade, behind a mirror, innocuous places like that where someone isn't really likely to notice it."

I watched as the implications of it dawned on him and resisted the urge to laugh as he looked around the room in a panic. I couldn't hold back a snort when he jumped up while eyeing my lamp.

"Sit down, there's no way in hell my place is bugged. For one, you've been here most of the time when I'm gone and our schedules aren't set enough to allow someone a good chance to get in, two, I really doubt that someone would think to bug _me _as a source for information because people usually don't tell me anything worth hearing, and three, I am the undisputed master of all things technology in this country, and that is fact whether any of you guys know it or not. Furey really isn't bad, pretty savvy, even by my countries standards. If I hadn't learned what I know from my particular home country then I doubt I could beat him."

He was still looking around nervously,

"How do you know, though?"

I looked at him blankly before pulling out my notebook from inside my jacket flipping to a page I hadn't worked on in months and showing him the circle.

"This is a transmutation circle of my own design. Incredibly finicky and difficult to keep active, especially when moving, and it get's worse the farther away I get from it. It works like those bugs. If I invert it and switch two circles around it shorts out any bug that doesn't have another circle of my design already attached to it." I let go of the notebook, letting him hold on to it as I walked to the door, picking up the small rug in front of the door and flipping it over to show a transmutation circle drawn in a dark red-brown.

"This is that circle. It's written in a mixture of ink and my blood, meaning every time that I pass over this rug it shorts out the bugs that are in here without my blessing. Blood calls to blood and I only have to get within a foot of this thing for it to set off automatically."

He stared at it, slack-jawed. I rolled my eyes and replaced the rug, walking back over to him in order to snatch back my notebook.

"In short, this is my kingdom and I am the queen."

I tucked my notebook back into my coat as he took it all in. There were a full ten minutes of silence as he thought over everything and I munched on my chocolate bar. Finally, his eyes snapped up to me and he grinned triumphantly.

"You called him Roy."

I froze, thinking back on all that I had said. Damnit. I had gotten so used to calling him 'Roy' in my head that it slipped out.

I shrugged, looking away from him as he chuckled.

"I've never heard you call him that, damn and he thought you hated him for pulling you into this shit."

I snapped my head up to look at him and he swallowed uneasily at my expression.

"Why would he think I hate him? It's not his fault that I'm here, it's my own."

Jean looked down at his lap, fiddling with his fingers.

"Well, it's just that he's the one who ended up recruiting two child soldiers, even if Bradley tricked him into helping with you, and that doesn't sit right with him sometimes. He's got a lot of guilt for doing it, your case probably more than Edwards because he see's you more often, sees how the military is changing you."

I glared down at the table, frowning in thought.

"I...didn't know he felt that way. I'm not a child, no matter what you guys think. I'm a legal adult in my home country, able to vote and everything, not that you guys have that here...anyway, I was probably going to end up in the military no matter what, it's not his fault. I didn't really have anything to do with him at first, the only part he _really _played in it was a conversation and the use of his office. I would have gotten myself into this without him."

It took Jean a few seconds to formulate a response.

"...He doesn't see it that way. He see's the changes the military has caused in you and the way you distance yourself from people, him most of all. You have lunch with Riza, hell you live with me, but you won't even call him by his name, or so he thinks."

I rolled my eyes,

"I called Riza 'Hawkeye' up until she told me I could use her first name, same with everyone else. You guys outranked me, it was a respect thing for the most part. And for the other part, it was that I didn't know where I stood with you guys. I was waltzing in where there was already an established social and military hierarchy, I didn't have the privilege of taking liberties like that. We weren't friends yet, so we didn't treat each other like friends. He's made no move to treat me as anything other than an underpaid, over glorified, secretary so I call him by surname or rank."

Jean spluttered,

"A secretary! No, you're military, that's-"

I stood, letting my chair scrape the floor on my way to toss the empty soda bottle in the trash.

"Don't. You already said he see's me as a child. I'm not told the military side of things, according to him I'm not 'in the know'. Maybe it's actually some misplaced sense of guilt for getting me involved, but here I am thinking that I was just considered untrustworthy. I'm actually not sure which is worse, really. Either I'm not trusted or I'm incompetent...I'm going to bed."

Jean jumped out of his seat, barreling past me to block the door to my room.

"No, we're going out somewhere, remember? Just change out of your uniform and we'll leave. It'll be worth it, promise."

I eyed him, twice as tired as when I'd arrived home because of all of the emotional bullshit. Finally, I sighed, pushing past him.

"All right, All right, we'll go places, and 'Oh, the places we'll go'…"

Not now, Dr. Seuss.

I changed into dark fitted jeans, pulling on a black shirt with ¾ sleeves, and putting my boots back on. I met Jean at the door, already wearing my coat, trying not to look half asleep.

"After you, then."

He led the way out of the apartment building and across town. Most everything was closed except the bars and unsavory dives. We had to cross the street to escape catcalling prostitutes on more than one occasion. Jean was smoking like a freight train while we walked, probably still pouting a little on the inside that I wouldn't let him smoke in my apartment. We walked for over an hour, taking useless turns and doubling back more than once. When we finally got to our destination I was more than a little cold and far more awake than I had been when we started out.

Jean lead me into a warehouse, jiggling open the door and opening it slightly for me to slip inside. I hesitated for a brief second and he gave me a reassuring smile. I groaned quietly,

"I swear on soda if you get me killed tonight, Havoc…"

I slipped into the warehouse, cataloging everything in sight automatically, sorting it out and matching codes with wares. Munitions were stored here, guns, ammo, tank parts, I wasn't aware these people had tanks, but okay, I can work with that. Jean took the lead once more, picking his way through stacks of crates until we came up to a lit area. We rounded a corner and the sudden shock of light left me blinking, trying to protect my seared corneas.

When I could see again I examined where Jean led me. It was a clearing in the forest of crates, an old heater sitting in the middle and providing both warmth and illumination. Sitting on crates in civilian clothing around the lamp was Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and Olivier Armstrong.


	30. Chapter 30

The warehouse was silent, nothing moved, it didn't sound like anyone was breathing. I knew better, of course, could feel it in the flow of alchemy that I had gotten so in tune with the more I used it. There was a stray cat in the dumpster outside, along with at least seven rats. Other than that it was just us, five humans sitting in a circle. Silently. Too dramatic, better ruin the moment. I glanced around the room, looking distinctly unimpressed.

"Is this an intervention? I've heard of those. This looks like an intervention. Or Alcoholics Anonymous. Is this an AA meeting?" I collapsed bonelessly onto the only crate left in the large circle, between Olivier and Jean, crossing my legs, both dangling above the floor, too short to reach.

"How do these go again? Ah! I'm Sheila, and I have a drinking problem. My hobbies include knitting and psychological warfare."

Jean snorted, and the oppressive silence was broken, mostly. Riza was wearing a soft expression I didn't recognize and Mustang looked slightly pained. Olivier was wearing her poker face, as always. She was the one who spoke, sounding slightly annoyed.

"If you're going to play games then you can leave."

I raised an eyebrow, nodding slightly.

"'Life is a game board. Time is your opponent. If you procrastinate, you will lose the game. You must make a move to be victorious'." In my mind palace, I wrinkled my nose. Not my best random quote. I closed the book I had on Napoleon Hill, tossing it aside somewhere, moving on for another place to pull them. In the real world, I shrugged,

"Either way, we have things to talk about. Such as, but not limited to, why the hell are we meeting somewhere so damn creepy? Seriously, I halfway thought Jean was leading me here to kill me off and dispose of the body."

Jean glanced at me reproachfully and I shrugged,

"Hey, I said half, alright?"

Roy sighed, pinching his nose between his forefinger and thumb for a second before straightening up and clapping his hands together to gain everyone's attention. When we quieted he spoke.

"We're here because it's the only place I know is secure, and even that is sketchy. It's just over 8 miles exactly from the homunculus Pride, we've been able to verify that his eyes can't reach this far, compounded with distance from both his body and the underground circle."

He glanced at Armstrong before continuing.

"Earlier today the Major General was ordered to ask Stephanie here certain questions, and demand certain answers. Riza has informed us that Pride was ordered to listen in to the conversation to make sure the Major General acted as she was supposed to and to ensure that if Stephanie's answer was...satisfactory they would find out about it. Riza, what did they say about her answer?"

I barely dared to breathe, wondering whether I had spoken too brashly, revealed too much, what would they conclude about me?

Riza sat up military straight as if giving a formal report.

"The Fuhrer concluded in the end that she is a fickle child, prone to whim and whimsy who would doubtless run when things were more 'dangerous' than 'intriguing'."

I kept my face blank, determined not to scowl, but I'm positive my left eye was twitching.

Roy nodded in satisfaction.

"That's good. It means they won't be taking her into account when they move against us. Major General, what were _your _thoughts?"

She 'harumphed', looking my way through the corner of her eye.

"She has spirit, at times you can see it. She's too small, eaten in one bite. She did not lie to me, I know that much. Her loyalties lie with those she admitted to in the room, and more than likely _only _those."

"And who was it she claimed allegiance to? The Fuhrer? The people? Her home?"

Ah, so we're having a trial about my loyalty. At least I'm a witness to my own defense, even if they're pretending like I'm not here at the moment.

"She said her loyalty went to her superior officers of course. Brigadier General Maes Hughes."

Roy had stiffened, but as she continued understanding dawned in his eyes as he waited tensely for whatever might come next. Why would this guy worry so much about who I was loyal too? Why should he care if I was loyal to, say, my brother and no one else?

"Major Edward Elric." Glances went my way and I refused to so much as twitch, having gotten a handle on my left eye a few seconds ago.

"And Colonel Roy Mustang. All those she has worked directly under during her time in Amestris, save those in the Drachman sector, but I have come to understand that she is unofficially in charge there anyway. Because of the qualifier at the beginning of the statement, it was felt by the Fuehrer that she was not actually in league with you, rather that she trusted your orders because of close association in the past."

Roy looked dumbfounded for a second before pulling himself together with a smug smile,

"So, loyal, huh?"

I rolled my eyes, "Don't push it, bub. Why am I here?"

Roy cleared his throat, glancing at Riza who nodded just slightly. Roy turned back to me,

"You're here to be caught up to speed. Completely. On everything that has happened since you got to this country that we kept from you, and a little bit from before."

I sat silently through a tale of Homunculi and tricks, among other things was the reveal of Maria Ross' survival and the fact that Selim Bradley was a homunculus known as Pride, with control over shadows. Once he was done he sat back, both him and Riza eyeing me warily. I figured they were waiting for the bitch fit to come, the 'why the hell was I left out' that anyone would have yelled. Instead, I glanced at Jean, and we grinned at one another. We turned back to the others, who were looking rightly confused. I flashed a half grin at them,

"We speak with Edward on the phone every other day. We exchange code words and set exact times for calls, and backup times for if those are missed, all on a secure line. We're not exactly clueless although the 'Pride' bit was news to me." I tilted my head in thought, surveying Olivier. Not a lie, I hadn't known who it was.

"You know, I thought that aura of 'bad feeling' all over the room was you projecting a bad mood, but now that I think of it, it does have some resemblance to the signature homunculi have."

Roy stared at me blankly.

"What?"

I opened my mouth, about to smart off, but he clarified,

"What was that last bit, about the homunculi?"

I resisted the urge to fidget, every eye in the room turned to me.

"You remember how I was speaking with you and Edward about the signature of alchemy and how the Xingese group thought I was doing alkahestry? Well, I sense transmutations and the weave of energy through a transmutation. It's how I figure out what's gone wrong and where, or how to tweak something just right to get it to do exactly what I need it to do. Apparently the more I dabble in this the better I get at it. I'm even able to determine where people are without looking because of how the latent energy around them is. I believe the Xingese call this listening or feeling the 'dragons pulse'. It's thought to be the natural energy that runs through the Earth and the people who live here. My theory is that I'm more sensitive to it because I'm from really far away, somewhere alchemy has never touched."

He looked dumbfounded,

"So you can sense homunculi? Who's a homunculus and who's not? Whether Pride is listening in the shadows?"

I shrugged,

"Yeah, I suppose, if I pay attention maybe. I've got a circle to stop that eavesdropping shit, too."

Jean looked smug,

"She's got some really fancy circles in that book of hers. Some that you wouldn't even believe possible."

I hugged my coat tighter around me as if to protect the book inside from prying eyes. I glared at Jean,

"I can't be known to do alchemy, they want alchemists for 'sacrifices' and that Envy guy already admitted there was something odd about me. I don't want to push it unless it's absolutely necessary."

Roy leaned forward, expression serious once again.

"What do you mean? When was this?"

I shrugged, uncomfortable with the attention.

"That attack at the lab, with Edward and Alphonse. I talked about it with Hughes, but...Anyway, in the lab, the one called Envy said that I had a strange feeling about me that he hadn't felt before. Lust agreed with him after she reformed. That was trippy by the way. I put a bullet in her but then 'flash of light' and she's good as new…"

"I killed her." It was blunt, no emotion, no inflection. I glanced up at Roy and then over to Jean.

"I know." Roy looked up sharply but Jean raised a hand guiltily,

"That was me, actually. I explained one night how I ended up in the hospital before she...fixed me."

Roy nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Is that all?"

I fidgeted slightly, playing with the pocket on the outside of my coat.

"Well, that's all _they _said. The old man, Fu, the first time I met him he asked _what _I was, rather than who. It was odd, but I guess I can't sense my own energy so I wouldn't ever know if there really is something odd about it…"

Roy sighed,

"Do you think there's a chance the homunculi might go after you because of this? Or after your country?"

I shrugged,

"As for me, they tried to kill me in the lab, so I wasn't interesting enough to spare in the first place, I doubt they'll try again, not worth the effort. As for my country," I grinned, "They won't find it."

Olivier snorted,

"Girl, those creatures have strange powers, some that we don't even know about yet. How can you be in any way certain that they won't find this place?"

My grin died down to a half smile,

"Because even I couldn't find it again."

I waited a split second for that to sink in before changing the subject.

"Now, what's the plan?"


	31. Chapter 31

The end was near, and I was finally let in on everything. Things were starting to look up. So why did it feel so damn bad? When those two look at each other like that, when they talk in whispered voices, or share inside jokes? I knew the Colonel and Riza had a thing, that was in the anime- I think. Taylor had mentioned that they were close, and that it was possible they were involved. I was tempted to ask Jean, but I knew that he would only laugh his ass off and then tell the Colonel. Then again, he might despair a bit that everyone says he would never be able to get me, and there I go, seemingly having a crush on the one who stole a majority of his past girlfriends.

No, I would suffer in silence. And find where in my brain crushes and other such feelings are housed and smother them in their sleep. I didn't need this, especially not now. So what if I took extra care to do the absolute most for the projects he ordered? I told myself I would do it for anyone, hell, look at how above and beyond I went for my last superior officer. Very not dead and living in hiding. I held the Colonel's opinion of my work, and of me, in very high regard. Which is why when I received the orders that left me hyperventilating and near tears I ran to Jean instead.

I left work early, running home to blow off steam rather than taking a cab. I careened through the door, sliding into the living room, the door slamming shut behind me. Jean took one look at my face and his hand went to his gun as he stood, automatically checking the windows for whatever threat that would put me in this kind of state. I just shook my head, breathing hard and trying not to cry again, holding the papers out to him and sinking onto the sofa.

He scanned through it quickly, finding what was bothering me almost instantly and going pale.

"Report for the state Alchemists exam?! I thought they didn't know you were an alchemist?"

I just glared at the coffee table in front of me,

"Apparently not. If they have some evidence I don't know about and I fail on purpose, then I could be court-martialed for sabotaging a possible military resource."

Jean sank onto the sofa with a sigh, throwing the orders onto the table and scratching the back of his head warily.

"Well, you'd be able to run off to Maes and Ed, there's always that at least. You'd be free of the military."

I laughed dully, not even bothering to look up.

"No Jean. If I'm court-martialed, then I'll be deported."

He stilled immediately and I went on.

"Since they don't know where I'm from exactly they'd probably drop me in the desert and tell border patrol to shoot me on sight. I read up on their policy for this kind of thing a long time ago."

He put his head into his hands, taking a deep breath before sitting up again.

"Alright, what did Roy say about this?"

"...I haven't told him yet."

"What do you mean you haven't told him yet?! He's your superior officer, he's supposed to be the first one you run to about these things!"

I just bowed my head further, scrunching in on myself more, sounding hollow.

"I didn't think, okay? I just...ran. I'm scared out of mind of being on these guys radars, and what I could be ordered to do as a state alchemist. I didn't think of running to Roy, I just thought of getting away, getting space so I could think."

"...you didn't do anything stupid, did you?"

I rolled my eyes, not that he could see it.

"I didn't blow anything up or kill anyone if that's what you mean. I punched my card out like a normal person and walked out the front door. I may have started running like a madman the moment I got to the street, though."

Jean just sighed and reached over to ruffle my hair.

"Why don't you go see Roy then. He'll figure out something to do.

I glanced at him, then back at the table.

"I'll go see him later. Right now I need to get my thoughts in order."

Literally, my panic overturned a bookshelf in the drawing room and loosened the door on the closet that 'selfish me' was still locked in, yelling something through the crack about islands and martinis that I was taking great pains to ignore.

* * *

I dressed in civilian clothes several hours later, my standard jeans, grey shirt, boots, and tan trench coat. Several people acknowledged me as I walked back into headquarters, but no one bothered to ask why I was there. I entered the office, seeing Roy still at Jean's desk, scribbling madly on paperwork. He looked up when I entered, and scowled,

"Where did you disappear to? We have 3 files to go through on that train wreck that delayed the supply caravan to South City."

I ignored him, closing the door solidly behind me and taking out the closest thing that equated to an expo marker in this dimension. I carefully sketched out one of the circles of my own design, the one from Hughes faked death that kept the shadowed homunculi I now knew as 'Pride' from eavesdropping. I popped the cap back on the marker as the transmutation sparks faded, turning to look at Roy who was now ignoring the paperwork and wearing a very serious expression.

I didn't speak, striding forward and digging the orders out of one of my various inside coat pockets, handing them to him silently. He read through them silently, not looking up when he was done, just continuing to sit there. After several long minute's he finally spoke.

"In two days?"

"...yeah."

He nodded, putting the orders down and clasping his hands under his nose in his 'plotting pose', dark eyes boring into me.

"Then you had best come up with a research thesis that's impressive, but doesn't give away any of the true aces up your sleeves."

I wanted to feel angry that he didn't have a brilliant 'get out of jail free card' just laying around for me, but I knew better than to hope for it. So I sank into the chair in front of the desk, running through the alchemy I had studied and tailored to my needs.

"I have a host of shit they'll never be able to understand, no matter how long they study it, even if I wrote a paper or twenty on it. I suppose in two day's I can gather it together so it looks like I've only ever studied the one branch. And come up with a bullshit reason why."

He nodded, eyes darting toward the clock before stretching and yawning.

"You get on that, I'll handle the stuff here."

When he focused on me again it was with an intensity I hadn't seen from him before, not directed at _me _at least.

"I can't guarantee that you'll still be under my command once you get your certification. I already had Fullmetal, and look how that turned out. Don't be surprised if you have to work directly under the Fuhrer, or hell, get sent to some remote lab in the west under the guise of heading research."

I nodded, standing and giving a half-hearted salute.

"I'm going to call M-Edward and tell him. See you in two day's, I was given tomorrow off to prepare."

I barely caught myself. If I had accidentally said Maes in front of Roy I would have been done for. As it was I shuffled out quickly, ending the transmutation and wiping it away with a swipe of a handkerchief before hastily retreating, hoping he hadn't caught the near slip.

When I got home Jean was watching the Amestrian version of Jeopardy that he refused to watch when I was present, he hated it when I called out answers. He switched channels swiftly before asking,

"Well? What'd he say?"

I shrugged, walking over the fridge and pulling out a soda, popping the cap off and tossing it into the jar I was collecting them in for Fuery.

"He said to come up with a good thesis but hide all my aces."

Jean rolled his eyes, letting them focus on the TV again.

"You always hide aces, there's no other way that you can win at cards so much."

I snorted, setting my soda down on the table by the phone while I dialed, pointing my sonic prototype at it briefly to activate speaker phone.

"Jean, I wear ¾ sleeves when we play cards, where the hell am I hiding them?"

He grumbled in the background as the phone buzzed, turning the sound on the television off, waiting for one of the boys to pick up. They were in a house in the middle of backwoods, renting from a blind old lady who had a phone line run for the place back when her son lived there, so they should answer pretty quickly unless they were out entertaining her. I'm told she has a mean Mahjong game despite the Braille that had to be put on the tiles.

Finally, someone picked up. Edwards amused voice sounded through the phone,

"Ed's whore house, you got the dough we got the ho."

Jean choked on his own spit and I snickered,

"Is the New Years special still available?"

"Nope, all resolutions were broken. Too late now."

I relaxed against the arm of the couch, grinning at Jean who was turning slightly purple.

"That has to be my favorite set of code phrases in the history of ever."

Edward snorted, sending static across the line.

"Yeah, _you_ would think that. I answered the phone like that for three day's until you called. You won't believe the amount of people who call looking for the guy who used to live here and freak the fuck out when I say that."

I laughed my ass off, making wheezing sounds as I tried to catch my breath to speak and flailing my arms retarded seal style.

"Oh mercy, oh that's great. Sweet Jesus, I think I popped my liver. Someone call an ambulance."

Jean glared at me, finally recovered but still slightly pink.

"Explain to Edward why you called, Steph."

That cut my laughter off sharply. Edwards worried voice floated from the phone,

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Are you guys alright?"

I took a deep breath to calm myself and make sure the giggles were completely gone before speaking.

"I was ordered to take the state alchemists exam."

Dead silence. Then Edward spoke, calm voice holding a tinge of deadly intent.

"And what if you fail?"

"...deportation."

There was a clatter as the phone was dropped on the other end and the sound of creative cursing. Jean sat there wincing while I grinned fondly at the ones he'd learned from me and collected the ones I hadn't heard before. I put them in my special book of curse words/phrases that I kept in the living room for easy access.

When he was done he picked the phone back up.

"Okay, what did the Bastard say about this?"

"Don't show any aces."

He started another tirade at the unhelpfulness of that advice and I waited for it to stop before I continued on.

"I'm going to use some of my research that originates in theories from my w-country, from my country, that they could study for a thousand years and never understand, no matter how smart they think they are."

"How is that?" The alchemist in him had awoken, judging by the curious tone of his voice.

I smirked at the air, looking out the window at the setting sun throwing ribbons of color across the sky.

"Because no matter how smart they are, or think they are, I will always be more clever." And because they've never so much as heard of the Doctor, and won't even know when I'm just spewing bullshit. "Now if you'll excuse me I have several months worth of Alchemy research to go through."


	32. Chapter 32

It took me longer than I thought it would to come up with what I wanted and gather it together so it looked like viable research notes. I coded it as simply as possible, not wanting to waste an actual code when I'd have to explain it to them, and also not wanting to seem _too_ good at the whole 'alchemist' thing. I'm supposed to be pretty new to it all.

One of my old journals had the text erased with alchemy, the graphite falling out of the pages like dust. I replaced it with how I 'discovered' using soundwaves as a weapon, how to separate the tumblers on locks using sound, how to repair with reverberated notes. I made sure to use as many Italian words as possible to make them think that they just weren't getting a technical term, which would sound vaguely latin and official even in Amestris. I turned in 'parts' of the journal, after checking it in and showing it to officials. The written test was waived because of it, which Roy told me Fullmetal only bothered to take because he was lazy and didn't want to draw up research for them.

The little show that higher ups watched had few people there for me, the Fuhrer standing at the front with Riza at his side, and Roy sitting in the risers, face blank. There was a panel of judges on either side of the Fuhrer, grumpy looking old men that didn't like me at all from the looks on their faces. I was barely to the center of the room when one of them started yammering.

"Surely this is a joke, a little girl playing at being an alchemist?"

Bradley just smiled blithely on as he replied,

"Now Cornelius, Miss Arcaro here is a soldier within our own ranks already."

I was peeved at being called a little girl, and the way he didn't even bother to give me my proper rank, addressing me as 'miss' instead. It was just like the manipulation at the very start of my career, where he challenged me to get through boot camp. I had figured out long ago that he had shifted me into the military like that because he was a homunculus and he felt the same strangeness about me as Lust, Envy, and the Xingese group. Now it was in an effort to get me to show my true strengths. I took a deep breathe, ignoring them and waiting until I was told to begin, deciding on a slightly more violent showing now, much like Edward had done.

'Cornelius' grumbled, waving his pen at me,

"Fine, fine. It says here that Miss Arcaro specializes in _sound waves _and their _application in alchemy_. What can you possibly do with that? Play us pretty music through a circle?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, ignoring the sarcastic stress he put on some words.

"Theoretically. But the focal point of it is more the application of sonic wavelengths and-"

I was cut off with another handwave,

"Whatever, whatever, if everyone here is ready then just get it over with, girl."

Yeah, definitely gonna do this the violent way.

When the guard to my left offered chalk I turned him down, pulling a sharpie out of an inside pocket of the trench coat I hadn't bothered to take off. I inked a circle onto the back of my hand and just knew that some around the room were waiting for me to snap my fingers to activate it, just like the alchemist they knew I worked directly under. Instead I capped the pen, stuffing it back into my pocket before turning the circle to face them, smirking for a second, before whistling.

The four tones of the Hunger games whistle, each note setting off a different reaction, small bits of lightning crackling on the circle on my hand, the rest where the destruction was.

First note- all windows imploded violently, sound blocked by my transmutation, pieces of glass hitting the floor completely silent.

_Silence has fallen..._

Second note-all overhead lights flickered and went out completely, bulbs intact, electricity just **gone**.

_It's not the dark people are afraid of, it's what's in it..._

Third note-activated a circle already inked high up on my right arm, unseen. It let a trail of alchemic lightning flow from my feet to the wall behind the judges, letting stone hands reach forth and gently touch their shoulders. No harm, just proof, a hint. A small sign of what I _could_ have done to them without moving an inch. I saw Riza's lips twitch into an almost smile at the way the fingers didn't even properly touch her, but sat heavily on the shoulders of the men at the table.

_Are you afraid of the dark yet…?_

Fourth note-the guns the guards on either side of me were holding at the ready came apart, bullets rolling loosely on the ground.

_Your control here was __**always**_ _an illusion..._

I stood there for three seconds, not ending it, giving them time to comprehend the damage, the complete and utter _silence_, letting it stay just long enough that they start to hear their own hearts beating in their chests, before closing my hand into a fist. The transmutation ended and sound returned. I cocked my head to the side before falling into parade rest, eyes ahead, head still cocked slightly insolently to the side.

"Over with. ...Sir."

No one spoke, I don't think they could find the words. Finally it was a still smiling Bradley that said,

"Dismissed, Lieutenant."

Oh goody, I've earned my rank back. I snapped a salute before turning and exiting, back straight, whistling a merry tune that replaced the glass and turned the lights back on, replacing the stone to it's former home. I let the soldiers put their guns back together themselves, no use wasting my energy on it.

Roy met me outside, smiling slightly, sun glinting off the medals on his uniform.

"If that's not one of your aces, then I'm very glad you're on my side, Stephanie."

I grinned up at him, hands still shaking slightly from how afraid I had been in that room.

"Good to be here, sir. Somehow I doubt any other unit would be able to put up with my bullshit on a regular basis."

He laughed at that, eyes sharply scanning the crowd.

"Come on, this isn't the best place to talk. Besides, there's some paperwork at the office with our names on it."

I sighed but followed anyway, glancing back at the building behind me, dread pooling in the bottom of my stomach. I had a hollow hope that he wouldn't pass me because giving me power and authority wouldn't appeal to him if I showed I was actually dangerous in some way. Somehow I doubt my luck is that good.

**~TimeLordOfPie**


	33. Chapter 33

I was getting a severe case of deja vu while waiting for Roy to finish reading the official missive. Hadn't he kept Edward in suspense as well? I understood Edwards nickname for him in that moment, the bastard was taking his damn time. For several minutes I resisted the urge to tap my foot on account of everyone else in existence having a slower reading speed than me, he could legitimately still be looking it over.

After five more minutes had passed I was ready to rip the paper away and throw him out the window, friend or no friend. I was to the point of whispering 'fish are friends, not food' under my breath in an effort to keep control. The phrase wasn't quite accurate but it was good enough. I had switched to speaking a language he didn't know, judging by the expression on his face when he finally looked up. Probably thought I was going to try to voodoo the news out of him since he was taking so damn long. I made enough references to magic and shit he probably thought I actually believed in it. Good. I kept muttering until he sighed and handed me the paper.

"Congratulations, Arcaro. You're officially a 'dog of the military'."

I read the paper at a glance, raising an eyebrow at him,

"I think there's a bitch joke in there somewhere."

Roy choked on his spit for a second before giving me a funny look and a near incoherent,

"Wha-?"

I rolled my eyes, waving the paper around before looking back at it.

"You know, first female state alchemist, dog of the military, 'female dog', bitch. Play on words. Oooh, here's my code name."

He shook off the insanity my words tried to leech into him before nodding,

"Yes, the 'Sonic Alchemist'."

I tossed the paper back at him, considering making a paper airplane out of it, rather than framing it like Roy had done to his.

"These guys are really not very creative. You shoot fire, so you're Flame. I used sonic waves so I'm Sonic. Armstrong is Armstrong so it's 'Strong' 'Arm'. These people need a new thesaurus or something. Would I get in a terrible amount of trouble if I gift wrapped a few and left one on each of the higher ups desks? I'd leave one for you so you wouldn't be blamed for anything..."

The Flame Alchemist is immune to puppy dog eyes. He just snorted,

"I wouldn't recommend it. You aren't going to mention 'Fullmetal' in your little tirade?"

I shrugged,

"Why would I? It's sort of badass."

He visibly wilted,

"So that punk is 'badass' and I'm 'unoriginal', I see how it is."

I eyed him warily,

"You didn't pick the name. Is this a midlife crisis? What do I do about that? Does chocolate help? Cuz I think chocolate solves everything."

He just groaned and let his head hit the desk. I snickered, eyeing the circle on the door that kept our conversation private to make sure it was still functioning beautifully.

"You know, you might need the thesaurus anyway for when you're Fuhrer and have to pick out the shitty names."

He sat up straight, glaring, "I would not need a thesaurus. I am perfectly capable of coming up with kickass codenames for everyone."

I raised an eyebrow slowly, "Oh, really. 'The Hawks Eye'?"

The wilt was back.

"How'd you know about that one?"

I leaned back in my chair, "Jean."

Roy cursed, scowling, "It's always Havoc, always."

I rolled my eyes, deciding to stop him, while he was ahead, with something that had been bothering me for a while.

"Speaking of you being Fuhrer…"

He fell silent, raising an eyebrow and waiting for me to go on.

My glare had him wilting again, "The policy with the mini skirts-"

He was waving his arms in denial before I could even finish, sweating anime style in fear.

"No, no, that doesn't apply to several dear friends, ah,...let's see...you, Riza, and, well, Maes already bargained for Scheska, she get's to keep her normal length skirt, so there's really no reason to be furious!"

I huffed, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah, you better hope so. Now that _that's _out of the way I have to go, Jean said there'd be food at 7 and I'm already pushing it."

I was halfway to the door when Roy called out. I turned, barely catching the silver gleaming object he tossed to me. I turned it over in my hands, barely holding in the fangirl squeals. The pocket watch. I'd seen Taylor's that he used for Cosplay but this was the real deal, heavy with valuable alloys and responsibility, as well as being much more finely detailed than the plastic knockoff he'd bought. I glanced up at Roy to see him giving that small, genuine half smile that rarely crossed his face, and was never shown in public.

"Good night, Stephanie. Report at 0800 tomorrow for your first official orders."

* * *

The walk home was chilly and the fog thick, settling on the dark streets like an ominous blanket. But a gun on one side of my belt and that silver chain showing on the other was enough to keep any sort of idiot from trying to waylay me. I didn't bother to use the key anymore, Jean never locked the door unless we were in lockdown, and I would know about it. There was one transmutation circle that Jean could draw and use, and only one. It alerted me that shit was going down and allowed me to locate him. He had been pissy for weeks about having to learn so much science shit to be able to work into the one circle, but I was adamant.

Just like I thought it would the door opened easily, revealing the brightly lit kitchen and Jean unpacking the Amestrian equivalent of Chinese takeout. So, his attempt at cooking met as much success as I had predicted. At least my kitchen was still standing, small mercies. When I walked in he looked up at me and scowled before going back to unpacking the little foldable boxes.

"Not a word from you, Miss 'I can only cook three kinds of soup but can alchemically brew at least 40 different kinds of alcohol and 27 illegal drugs from far off lands'."

I scoffed at him as I peered over his shoulder at what he bought,

"Please, it's 55 types of alcohol, there are at least 13 different types of whiskey alone."

I could practically hear the eye roll.

"I don't want to know why you ever bothered to memorize how to make this shit if you can't even drink it."

_Because my brother is a fanatic of 'How it's made' and other types of shows and I'm not capable of forgetting?_

I shrugged, grabbing a roll type thing that was filled with mystery meat and some sort of bean paste.

"Oooh, you got the rolly thingies. I thought you said you hated these, what's the special occasion that I get them anyway?"

He collapsed into his seat and handed me a plate across the table,

"Because today was the day of the results, figured you'd want good food no matter how things went. So, were you successful? Did they not want someone as _dangerous _as you to have resources?"

I unclipped the watch twirling it slightly around my finger in plain view. Jean stared at it for a second before sighing,

"Well, you gave it a shot at least. What's your code name? Anything more creative than 'Strong Arm Alchemist'? Are you the 'Car Ar Oh' or something? Car-goes-boom-oh?"

I quickly swallowed my piece of roll thingy (that I should really ask the lady behind the counter the name of) and tried not to laugh because I would choke and die at this point.

"Okay, quick etymology lesson because there was plenty of opportunity for them to make plays off of my name as well, really. 'Arcaro', maker of bows. The weapon kind, not the pretty girly kind people put in their hair."

He pointed at my chest where my dog tags lay hidden,

"Explains the 'family crest' on the ring, a strung bow with a nocked arrow."

I nodded,

"Yup, that's us. But then again there's really no way those guys would bother to look up my name to do that sort of thing...and it's not like they'd find it if they did. Armstrong just got the short straw I suppose. Then again I suppose Roy is lucky they didn't have some sort of stallion joke, he was pretty young when he got his certification, right?"

Jean choked, laughing hysterically over his noodles for several minutes. After several more I wondered if maybe he needed a doctor, and when he started turning red I was inching toward the phone to call somebody to sort him out. I was almost to the living room when he calmed down and wiped the tears away. He looked around for me and when he saw me he scowled,

"Get back over here, you're not finished eating. And you still haven't told you your code name yet!"

The phone rang as he finished his last sentence, causing me to leave the table to answer, calling after me,

"The Sonic Alchemist."

"So does that mean I call you 'Sonic' now?"

The image of a speedy blue hedgehog entered my head, and I choked, snorting and fumbling for the phone,

"Oh, god, please don't. No, I couldn't. Well...no. Just no."

I took a second to compose myself before answering the phone,

"Jamestown Mortuary, You snuff 'em, we stuff 'em, how can I help you?"

Edwards snickered on the other end of the line,

"How's the birthday special here?"

"...expired."

We both snickered, leaving Havoc sighing in the background, shaking his head sadly while poking his noodles. When we collected ourselves Edward asked,

"How did things go?"

"You're talking to the oh so creatively named 'Sonic Alchemist'."

He snorted,

"Welcome to the club, then. When do you get your first orders?"

"Tomorrow, 0800."

"So soon? I was given a week to get my shit sorted out."

"I'm already in the military so there's nothing I should need 'sorted out'. It'll be fine, probably a routine lab tour, or mine examination or some shit."

There was a crash from the other end of the line followed by intense swearing that I took a moment to appreciate. Edward just sighed,

"Call me when you get back then, I have a chimera to sort out and traumatized chickens to find."

I shook my head fondly as I hung up the phone, turning to see Jean hoarding the last of the noodles. I sniffed, grabbing the entire box of roll thingies,

"I didn't want your heathen wormy food anyway."

He rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out.

"Good."

We took the last of our food to the living room where I annoyed Jean to the ends of the earth by knowing all of the trivia questions on the game shows. The perfect domestic evening in, complete with annoying older brother figure and the feeling of doom sitting heavily in my pocket.


	34. Chapter 34

We were correct in assuming my first assignment would be some dinky mine inspection. It was a few miles outside of South city and Roy had arranged for Fuery to meet me at the station and show me around. I packed light, sonic screwdriver in my black military coat and a few changes of clothes. I was expected back in only two days. It wasn't supposed to take long, but the trip itself was time intensive. There wasn't much I could do about that, my instant teleportation circles have only managed to explode apples, so that's getting me nowhere. Roy couldn't see me off at the station where I boarded the military train, but Armstrong did. The train itself was mostly for cargo but had a small area for transporting personnel that I was being squeezed into last minute.

The goodbye with Armstrong went just as one would expect, with a lot of tears, sparkles, and flowery language. Eventually, I managed to escape, waving goodbye from a safe distance through the window of the train. Those hugs of his are deadly. Once the station was out of sight I relaxed into a chair and pulled out my journal, working on the scribbles of fluffy little animal in the corners that signified important pages, and generally just tried to ignore the stares I was getting.

I was the second youngest State Alchemist, right after Edward, and the only female one. Ever. There was a good bit of pride for that, but the narrowed eyes and mistrustful stares didn't really scream welcoming. I was halfway through adding a ridiculous amount of detail to the wings of the hippogriff on page 74, only about an hour from our destination, when the train rolled to a stop. I looked up, wondering if there was a problem with the train and if I should offer to fix it with alchemy to get us moving already, when the door slid open and the conductor stepped through before he crumpled forward revealing a small man. The man himself was unimpressive, shaved head, plain clothes, dark eyes, pale skin, but the gun he was holding was an entirely different matter. Mainly because I didn't recognize it. At all. It wasn't even slightly similar to models from this world that I had seen or studied. I didn't even hear the other guy who crept up behind me, didn't feel his signature through the Dragons Pulse. I was too concerned with the one who had just killed the conductor. So when that guy nodded to something over my shoulder I went for my gun, but was much too late to stop the blow headed for the back of my neck.

* * *

I floated in an out of consciousness, barely getting snatches of a bumpy ride in the back of a truck, and being carried somewhere dark that smelled of wet and slime. When I finally managed to wake up fully I was sitting up, my legs tied to the legs on the chair, rope around my middle tying me to the back of it. My hands weren't tied, but rather held in place with a strange stockade type deal that kept them from touching, much like the mysterious prisoner had been in during the first episode.

These were restraints for an alchemist.

The gag slipped between my teeth was a restraint specifically for _my _alchemy.

They had known an alchemist was coming, known to have these restraints on hand, and they knew who I was despite having gotten the state title less than a week ago. They knew exactly how to make me useless. My coat was gone, and my uniform jacket, leaving me in the black sleeveless under-armor shirt, pants with now empty pockets, and my boots. Even my fucking hair tie was gone, wavy strands made nearly River Song wild from the sweat, and frizzy from the humidity. At any other time I would have appreciated the similarity more but the situation was too dire to entertain those sorts of thoughts. I worried over my companions on the train, but knew they weren't here as well. The little snatches I had seen when being transported didn't show any other cargo but me and the items beings shipped on the train.

I took a second to establish everything about my cell. There were no windows, just four concrete walls streaked with moisture, no furniture except the chair I was in and another one on the wall beside the heavy door. I was dead center in the room, directly under the single free hanging light bulb. This was so cliche it would hurt, if it weren't so terrifying. I was helpless, completely and utterly helpless for the first time in a long time. I could guess why they took me, state alchemist and all, but I was new to this, they had to know I wouldn't have any information of value and I wouldn't be worth anything in ransom. When I was done being scared I went straight to pissed off. It was ridiculous, really, that I end up in such a shitty situation so soon after everything started going right and then small things started going downhill. Well, I reached the bottom of that damn hill. It's hot here. I would have thought the bottom of this hill was hell, but it was too damn humid, muggy and wet with me sucking in watery air through my nose and having trouble breathing properly.

I was trying to plan out how to strangle my captors to death with only my boot laces as a weapon and my hands strapped to the chair when the door opened. There were two men, one was the same who had killed the conductor on the train, and the other was new. Both had shaved heads, though the new guy was much bigger, taller with arms showing and strange tattoos slipping along his hands, twisting reptiles tinged with green. He wasn't particularly intimidating, but the cart he pushed in was.

Knives, matches, metal, every single tool needed to get an answer from someone unwilling to talk. I hadn't planned for this, it hadn't really hit me as a possibility before. It had never happened in the anime, that I was aware of. But then again, that's where I've been going wrong lately. This isn't anime anymore, now this is life. And life is dangerous, frightening, and filled with sadists like the guy picking up a scalpel and starting to grin at me. Life is treacherous, and now...it just might be over for me.


	35. Chapter 35

The first thing the man did was ask a question,

"Where is the money?"

He held the scalpel uncomfortably close to my jugular while his friend, blank-faced as ever, pulled the gag down slowly. Apparently rasping out 'What money' was the wrong answer.

He removed the scalpel to give me a very solid open-handed hit to the face. I'd had worse in high school, but I didn't have the guts to taunt him about it like Edward or Roy no doubt would have. I just wanted it to stop, and it hadn't even really gotten started yet. The fear was enough to do it for me. I just wanted to go home. I wasn't crying yet, through sheer force of will, but it wasn't going to be long.

He asked again,

"Where. Is. The. Money?"

"I don't-I don't know what money you're talking about."

His friend grabbed my hair, forcing my face up to look him in the eye as he smiled slightly,

"The money that's supposed to be funding Anabor mines. Where. Is. It?"

I couldn't point out that mine on a map, me, so I definitely had no clue what he was going on about.

"Not my division." _I didn't mean to be this cheeky. It just happened._ "I'm from Investigation-"

He sneered, smile turning to something even more ugly and the scalpel digging in slightly more, enough that I could feel a sting at my neck.

"I have it on gooood authority that you know exactly what's going on."

I didn't react visibly to that, instead shaking my head just slightly in the negative.

"But I don't, I'm kind of new to this. Barely a week, really, this was my first assignment, and-"

I was cut off by another hit to the face, this time knocking me in the opposite direction, the scalpel removed.

He dragged the flat of the blade delicately down the side of my arm, the cold metal contrasting starkly with the muggy air.

"You lie. We were told you are the reason we don't have funding anymore. And because of that, you've been _gifted _to us. So we want to know, where is it?"

"If you'll allow me to cut in for a second? I'd prefer if you'd wait in the hall."

Another figure was standing in the doorway. I hadn't noticed it open, or sensed his approach. He was human, which was a slight relief. He was tall and slim, looking strangely stretched, long hair a dark brown or light black and eyes rather small and blue, wearing a white suit that looked out of place in the filth of this particular establishment.

The other men glanced at one another but Baldy nodded grudgingly and beckoned the other guy to follow him. The new arrival watched them leave and the moment the door was closed he looked at the other chair in the room as if to sit down but aborted the movement rather quickly when he saw the dusty state of it. Instead, he turned to me, still smiling that sincere seeming smile, eyes the only clue to his falsehood.

"Lieutenant Arcaro, Stephanie, can I call you Stephanie?"

He didn't pause for an answer, instead bulldozing straight through.

"You've kicked up quite the fuss in central. Such a violent audition for our State Alchemists Corp. But that's not really where you started to go wrong, is it?"

He leaned forward, too close for comfort and I scowled at him while he continued.

"You meddled, child. Drachma was the means to an end and you've unraveled several plans. As a reward for your hard work we've arranged this...vacation for you. Enjoy your interview, dear."

I stared slack jawed as he waltzed out, the other two sweeping back in. Baldy advanced, grinning once again, not giving me time to dwell on what I'd learned. I pushed it to the side, it wasn't really relevant at this precise moment anyway. I could analyze and investigate if- _when _-I escaped.

Baldy kept asking his questions and once he stopped using the flat of scalpel, resorting to the blade instead, I sank slowly into my mind palace, trying to find anything to use to bullshit my way out of this. Ruse after ruse failed, and I gradually realized that the pain became almost easy to ignore the more completely I shrank into my mind palace. There was only so much I could make up, only so many lies I could tell before I ran out of things to tell this man. I estimated he had stopped looking for information hours ago, now he was simply enjoying his task, breaking his gift.

So I hid. I sank into myself, reading books I hadn't revisited in a while, looking over those old albums of Elicia, watched the Avengers once or twice. Sometimes the pain on the outside was enough to penetrate within. Shelves fell over, screens cracked, and doors that should always stay closed came flying open. I ignored the physical, rushing to fix the mental, I could only hope Roy caught wind of the hijacking when Fuery didn't pick me up at the station and that he raised hell to find me. Because as capable as I had thought I was, I'm trapped.

I had ignored Edward's warning to Rose about Icarus. I flew on my wings of wax, and now they're melting, without even water below me to soften my fall.

_Why wasn't I better prepared?_

_Why had I not been paying attention?_

_Why did I turn down Armstrong's offer to escort me here?_

_I should have just gone into hiding._

_I should have known it was a trap._

_Why did I think I could operate right under the Fuhrers nose and not be found?_

_That's what this is, isn't it? I was found out, a supporter of Fullmetal, of revolution._

_And I was handed over, gotten rid of._

_Done so elegantly I didn't even see it coming._

_A set up._

_Roy won't even realize that's what this was._

_He won't think to link it with what I've done with Drachma._

_I guess it turns out I'm really not that clever at all._

_And now...I've failed._


	36. Chapter 36

Time passes differently in my mind palace. I had no way of knowing how long passed before my body registered that I was alone, and not restrained anymore. My body constantly scans the dragons pulse, just on instinct, especially now when there's danger everywhere. Once I was sure that I was alone, with even the smallest chance of escape, I returned to the physical world. I had forgotten how the palace blunted the pain, out in the real world it hit me with the force of a car bomb.

I was lying on the floor in front of the chair in the same room as before, the cart still there, blood on the floor, marred with boot prints. I didn't move, I did my best to stay still and take stock of everything, but it was hard to think at all. I just wanted to run back into my mind palace and never worry with the physical plane, this world of agony, ever again. But I refused to retreat now, because I knew I'd never summon up enough energy to try again. It was now or never.

So I dragged my eyes open, encrusted with grit, and vision slightly blurry, but my eyes were still there, which was a plus. I moved my tongue, still there, and pressed it against all of my teeth, still in place by some miracle. I twitched my feet, toes and legs still present, always good, still got legs, ha…

I moved on to my hands, and encountered a problem. While the hands themselves were still attached, there was a problem with the fingers. My thumbs were still untouched and I dragged my eyes over to where my right hand lay, tears flooding my eyes at the sight, a choked sob escaping my throat. Detached, right at the second joint. There were little stubs wrapped with half-assed bandages, and that was where most of my pain was centered.

True, my arms hurt like hell but the cuts weren't deep. He must have drawn on me with a pen knife, and I didn't bother to look at them yet, knowing I wouldn't want to remember what I saw, knowing I would just have to throw all of these sights away behind the same door that held the memories of my torture. The ones I was repressing still, because I could never truly hide from them. Plus I doubted I could take the sloppy bandages off, or put them back properly.

So I used the strength of my legs alone, weak and unstable after who knows how long of not moving except to twitch in pain, straightening up and falling into the chair again. I was breathing hard, still determined to escape despite the new...obstacles that had arisen. I eyed the room, looking for anything useful, and found exactly what I needed. Hope started to burn gently in my chest at the sight of the little bowl of detached fingers. This I can work with.

It was a sick sight but I was just glad they had left them. I knew my medicine, I could work with this. It wouldn't be pretty, and if I-_once I_-escaped and made it back to safety then I would probably have to sever them again to attach them properly. I winced just at the thought but steeled myself. There was no way I could escape with only my thumbs and my pockets filled with my other fingers. Besides, I was working on a deadline here, who knew how long the nerves had already been disconnected.

So I used my thumb, dipping it in the blood pooled on the floor and drew the circles I cobbled together. It was difficult, and painful. One transmutation per finger. Each time the circle had to be redrafted, the nerves and muscles tested, and then moving on to the next, using teeth to take off the bandages. By the time I was done I was exhausted, ready to curl up in a corner and just give in. But if I gave up they would just burn the fingers next time, or get rid of _me _altogether.

I'd probably only been left like I was because full immersion into the mind palace like I had been doing mimicked a coma in more ways than one. Whoever had severed my fingers had medical training, the most pain, least actual damage. They wanted me alive still. Meaning they'd probably gone to get some way to wake me, an IV with pure adrenaline or some such shit. So the clock was ticking. My left pinkie and right ring finger weren't responding how I would like, but it would have to do.

I stuffed the scalpel into my pocket, trying hard not to wonder about what part it had played in damaging me, and used the blood on the floor, soaking my right hand in it, nearly gagging at the texture and the smell, trying to ignore how unsanitary this was. 'Treat all blood as if it were contaminated' is the very first rule of first aid, but I didn't have time to observe it, plus it's _my _blood, if there's something wrong with it then getting it on _my _hands is hardly going to be my biggest issue here.

I used some more blood from the floor to dab a circle onto the back of my left hand, saving the stuff on my right for if I needed to get creative in an emergency, carefully turning the tumblers in the lock with a whistle that took three tries. My mouth was dry, despite the moisture in the air, and my tongue heavy. I eased the door open, slipping out as quietly as possible, swinging it shut silently behind me. I had my senses stretched to the limit, trying to read the dragons pulse to watch for approaching life forms, as well as straining my eyes in the dark hall so I didn't run into a wall and make a racket.

I was terrified of getting caught, of being placed in that room again. True, I had basically ignored most of it, but the pain I was in now that left me limping along with jagged scars on eight fingers was something I didn't want multiplied or added to in any way. So when I came to a dead end with three life signs approaching I didn't hesitate. Stealth wasn't an option anymore. I scribbled the circle hurriedly onto the stone wall, making my own door, dissolving it again to the sound of pursuit beginning on the other side.

I limped down hallways as fast as I could, ducking into empty rooms to avoid the people that rushed by. I didn't know if I was in the mine they had mentioned, a warehouse, or just the typical 'bad guy hideout' that everyone and their mother seemed to have in this anime. When the people running by became too frequent I worried about making it to the next door in time to hide. So I set up shop in a room. I removed the door halfway, leaving the semblance of the door in place, but melting the sides into the walls. I settled down behind the stacks of crates, grimacing at the realization that most of it was explosives. I was hoping this was for mining, rather than the terroristic streak I was starting to think these guys had.

I drew three circles on the ground beside me as I hid, leaning against the wall and breathing hard. It was only a matter of time. I would either starve to death in here, dehydrate, those guys would break in to torture and kill me, or the cavalry would arrive. Despite the atmosphere and the entire situation I dredged up a small rasping excuse of a laugh at that, 'Mustang' is the 'cavalry', gotta remember to tell Jean that…

I gripped my scalpel loosely, eyeing the door. I decided I would count. Twenty-Four hours. If in twenty-four hours I was somehow miraculously alive then I would make the biggest damn trouble these people had ever encountered and hope the explosions would be enough to attract help.


	37. Chapter 37

I'm ashamed to admit that I fell asleep. On watch waiting for salvation or death to find me, I fell asleep. In my defense, I was a bit battered and still trying to shove away the psychological issues that came with this whole shitty scenario. When I was startled awake it was by the hand on my shoulder and the voice in my ear, rather than the racket that must have been made to blow that door to bits. My hand automatically jerked to one of the transmutation circles beside me before someone caught my wrist. I stared at the hand for a second, still not fully aware, tracing it back to it's owner. Black hair, dark eyes, pale face, blue uniform, familiar. My brain telling me I knew this person but I couldn't really think for some reason. I could see his mouth moving, whoever he was, but I really couldn't be bothered to stay awake long enough to realize what it was he was saying. My befuddled and only half working brain provided that at least this person definitely wasn't an enemy. That was fine by me, they'd make a good pillow, then.

I think it startled him when I fell over on him, but I really didn't care, too damn tired to be worry about what mystery familiar person thought. I registered that I was moving, a strange parallel to when I arrived here, getting the same snatches of scenery only in reverse. It was disconcerting and had me twitching to get away. But the moment I started thrashing there was sound again, and I registered a voice, I remembered that, too. Several of the ones I heard were familiar, in fact. A good familiar. So I went limp. I'd been fighting for too long anyway. I felt like I'd never stop being tired. Apparently, my impression of a limp noodle wasn't appreciated because the familiar voices promptly flipped the fuck out.

* * *

Waking up again I was much more aware, my thoughts were clearer. But that period of time when they were muggy was distorted, even in playback. There was corruption in my mind palace for the first time, and I wanted to know how the hell that was possible. It was frightening that the one thing that had defined me for my entire life had a weakness. Whatever that was I needed to find out and avoid at all costs. Unless I could selectively choose which memories to blur out, in that case all of my middle school years needed to go, like, now.

Moving my arms was a bad idea, I knew, because they can't have been healed completely, but I did so anyway, dragging my hands into view. The scars were still visible, jagged and thicker than I remembered them being. The range of movement was also different, someone had been fucking with them. I didn't like it. Whoever it was had neglected to keep in mind the catch in my joints and now when I moved certain ways nerves pinched in an agonizing fashion. I was going to have to re-do it anyway. I pushed myself up, leaning against the back of the bed once I made it into a sitting position, examining the room with mistrust.

It was a hospital room, a normal one, but not one I had been in before personally. The flooring tile and paint on the wall pointed to this being the military hospital in Central, but I couldn't be certain. I could have slipped all the further into my mind palace when things took a turn.

Did I ever really escape?

Was I free or did I create somewhere familiar using pieces of something I had seen before in order to delude myself into _thinking _I was free?

Was I dead?

That was a possibility, maybe. If I died then there would be no telling where I would end up, I wasn't from this dimension so would my soul still be processed as energy, or would I end up nowhere, just...adrift? If I was adrift then I would sink into myself and pretend death never happened, that would be just like me, avoid the problem because I can't deal with it.

Once I had managed to thoroughly freak myself out with all of that theorizing the door swung open, Jean walking through. I stared at him like a deer in headlights for a second, trying to determine if it was real, or if I was just delusional. Jean was pale, staring at me, mouth gaping open. He stuck his head out and yelled for a nurse, why would he do that? There's nothing wrong with me, is there? True, I'm breathing a little hard and freaking out just a little bit but, but-oh. The nurse strapped on something over my face and I could breath easier, but then she was fiddling with the IV and Jean was fading away. I felt a flash of panic, not wanting to be alone, not wanting to be in the dark again. Flailing got me nothing but restrained, the nurse strapping me down, while Jean was turned to talk to someone just outside of the door. THAT did not go over well with me. I made a noise somewhere between dying cow and constipated chipmunk, drawing Jean's attention again. He snapped at the nurse, who from the looks of things was refusing to let me go. Isn't it sort of a wide known thing, don't strap down a victim shortly after they wake up somewhere unfamiliar? I was freaking the fuck out, and things were getting worse, the darkness closing in faster, drugs going to town on my system. But then the door opened wider and Roy was there, growling at nurses, looking like fury personified. Armstrong was at his heels, looking distinctly worn and sad, unusual for him.

But seeing Roy cleared things up. Yes, I was safe. I remembered now, it was clearer. The sight of him here was enough to trigger the sight of him in that room, wherever the hell I had decided to hide. The restraints were loosening and my arms flailed a bit, fingers spasming, and I knew my face must be a real sight, screwed up from pain. Roy was barking orders and I was seeing spots. When he turned, taking a step away I didn't register that I'd really moved but I caught his sleeve in my fingers, grip week, and almost impossibly painful to keep in place. I don't know what he was going to say to that, but I was already out.

* * *

Waking up the next time was much less eventful. My mind was in a better place, things weren't as scattered as before. I was by no means mentally sound, but at least I knew I wasn't dead or hallucinating. I must have twitched a bit before I opened my eyes because a small head was right near my face when I woke up. If I hadn't known they would be there because of the child-like energy radiating off of them then I might have been more than a little freaked out. But the sight of Elicia, pigtails immaculate, face scrunched up in worry, was a slightly more refreshing sight to wake up to than restraints and yelling military officers. My throat was parched but I managed to crack a small smile and manage a weak, "Hi."

Elicia was not impressed. She downright pouted, pointing at me almost viciously, "You left us! Mommy said you were gone! She said you had left us like daddy and that you weren't coming back either! Don't do that again!"

Oh, that hurt a bit. I winced at the implications, both that I had been gone long enough for Elicia to notice and be told about it, and that she was more affected by her fathers' 'death' than she had let on. We thought she was through most of the classic stages of grief, but apparently, she has attachment issues now. It would make sense that I would be associated with Maes in her mind, the only time I ever visited before was when he dragged me along. It must have only rubbed it in that he was gone when I started showing up on my own. To think that she had thought I had left her the same way…

I grimaced, petting her hair gently with clumsy fingers, trying to ignore the delay in reaction time, and the slight trembling. "I'm sorry about that. I tried to come back, I really did."

Her eyes were shining with tears now, and I looked around desperately for her mother, anyone really, who could stop the waterworks. "I thought you weren't coming back!"

I sighed, giving in and patting the bed beside me, dragging myself up into a sitting position once again. When she clambered up onto the bed I pulled her close to me, ignoring the twinges of 'hell no' that my body sent me. "Sorry Elysia."

A hug and an apology and all was well again, I was forgiven. She gave me a bottle of water that had been on the bedside table and I didn't bother to wonder at its origins. She then told me everything I had missed that she knew about, and that I had been gone for 'forever'. Apparently her mom had left to get something, or someone, but Elicia had been told to keep me company and to be quiet as a mouse. I was telling her she made a wonderful mouse when the door swung open, revealing an exhausted looking Gracia and a rumpled looking Jean, both clutching a cup of coffee for dear life. They froze when they saw us, Elicia waved cheerily, "Look! She's awake!"

I grinned, "Oh, none for me then? That's fine I suppose. What do I have to do to get a soda in this place?"

Gracia stumbled forwards, relief on her face, looking like she wanted to grab me but thought better of it. "Stephanie! We thought-the doctors said…"

I snorted, giving a strained half smile. "There's only one doctor I've ever felt worth listening too, and he's not from Amestris, that's for sure." Wait, more than one. _The_ Doctor, Doctor McCoy, Doctor Strange...

Gracia sank into the chair by the bed, running shaking hands through my hair, the only part of me that was safe to touch, most likely. Now that I thought about it, she had probably been the one to brush it in the first place. It didn't look like it had a life of its own anymore. Jean walked forwards slowly, eyeing me carefully as if I would disappear at any second.

"How are you feeling?"

I raised an eyebrow, "The words I want to use cannot be said in front of children, Jean. But I'm alive. That's the most I had really hoped for."

He nodded, circling around to the mess of machinery and the call button. "We should have a nurse look over you-"

"No."

He jerked his head up to look at me, raising an eyebrow at my scowl.

"Why not? Steph, you need to be examined, they weren't sure you would wake up at all! The doctor who those guys had said that you often slipped into a coma-like state that was near impossible to rouse you from!"

I shifted uncomfortably, "Not a coma. More...meditative technique, really."

He scoffed but I continued, "And the last time you called a nurse in she sedated and restrained me. Not fun times."

"You remember that?"

I must be losing my touch because the doctor in the doorway scared the living shit out of me. I hadn't felt him coming through the dragons' pulse. While I clutched my heart in an effort to keep it in my chest I warily checked to make sure he was human. Skinny, thinning hair, white coat, weird ass glasses, but human. That verified, I nodded,

"Yeah, I was thinking the clearest I had in a while but I was still a bit...delusional."

I grinned sheepishly before glancing at Jean.

"I wasn't sure if I was imagining you or not, but then R-Mustang came in, and it triggered what I could recall of being taken out of...wherever that was."

The doctor stepped forward towards me, letting Gracia bow out politely with Elicia in tow with well wishes and promises of food in the future. Once they were gone he pulled out a pen light and started a general check up. When he was finished he looked slightly baffled.

"You're...fine. I was expecting more damage, but you're mental functions seem to be perfectly fine, the same as always. Are you experiencing any sort of pain? No weird twinges?"

I eyed him, then looked down.

"...were you the one who worked on my fingers?"

Jean's drowning porpoise noise (that's a thing, don't question me) reminded me of his presence. He looked pained, pointedly not looking at me when the doctor answered.

"No, that was a different specialist. Why, is there a problem? We can see to another operation to fix any issues within a month-"

"No."

"There are no issues?"

"There are a shit ton of issues, buddy, but I was planning on fixing things again myself if I ever got out to do it properly. It was only meant to be a patch job, but your guy messed with shit he didn't know about. I have a joint condition that he's twisted nerves into knots around. Again, not fun."

He looked stunned,

"Patch job? The surgeon said that you had broken the knuckles strangely, likely doing something stupid and miscalculated, though he said that that judging from the angles it was most likely that you had done it yourself in some psychotic fit that related to waking from the comas, which is why we should keep you sedated."

Oh, hell hath no fury like a woman accused of psychosis. That guy is probably in the Fuhrers pocket. But there are some things you just don't want to talk about, especially not in front of your big brother figure. I pushed down more thoughts about the Fuhrer, wondering if I was safe here, wondering if they wouldn't just smother me in my sleep with a pillow. They hadn't done it yet, and Jean was here, and Roy was around somewhere, I was safe enough. So I averted my eyes to the door, where I could sense a life sign approaching.

"I don't want to talk about it."

In the ensuing silence a knock sounded at the door Gracia had closed behind her, swinging open gently to admit Riza, whose expression went from harried to complete surprise. I nodded to her with a smile.

"Hey Riza, how're things?" She stared for another second before stalking forward and pulling me into a gentle hug. The pain was worth it, really. I hadn't had a hug from someone bigger than me since Taylor and it made me feel safe for once, protected (Armstrong doesn't freaking count, that's the kind of hug you're supposed to get from an anaconda). I hadn't realized how much I needed one until that moment.

When she pulled back she was scowling slightly,

"Don't ever worry us like that again." Then she turned to Jean, face serious.

"Have you called Roy? Or her short blonde friend?"

He looked conflicted until she jerked her head to the door,

"You go tell everyone, make the calls from her apartment like usual. I'll keep her company, she won't disappear while you're gone."

He looked at her blankly for a long second before nodding, turning to me.

"I'm glad you're back, Steph."

There was more he wanted to say, it was written all over his face. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut and left the room, closing the door behind him. The moment he was gone Riza turned to the doctor, glare already in place.

"Was there something you needed?"

I don't know if it was the expression, the way her hand twitched towards her gun, or a combination of both that sent him scurrying. Once he was gone she sat in the chair by the bed, eyes pinning me in place, head tilted to the side. Finally, she sighed, closing her eyes and slumping in her chair slightly, looking more defeated than I had ever seen her.

"You gave us quite the scare. Several times in fact. The moment Fuery realized something was wrong he called Roy. We still had to search for three days until we found the place. We overpowered the head of the faction and forced him to show us where he was holding you. He brought us to an empty cell…"

She paused, swallowing thickly and I tried to look at my cell from an outsiders' perspective. Blood, knives, chains, the discarded, soaked, and torn bandages. It must have looked like a murder scene, at the very least. Riza cleared her throat and continued, still staring straight ahead.

"When he noticed the cell was empty he asked around, wanting to know when his people had 'finished you off'...he is very lucky to still be alive to face trial. Some of his men stepped forward, saying that you had escaped. We had to destroy the door once we found it sealed. You were out of it, just like the doctor they had with them said you would be. He was a local doctor, brought in when you slipped into a coma instead of answering questions. He was very adamant that you were brain dead. A tumor of some sort. We took you to the closest hospital, where you spent roughly a week with little to no change. You were transported to Central, Gracia was astonished to discover you gave her power of attorney by the way. Touched, but very surprised. Another four days passed when you woke up for a bit, only to immediately be sedated by a nurse."

Riza's scowl showed exactly what she thought of that nurse, and I smirked slightly until she sobered and continued.

"We were told it was unlikely you would wake up again, because of how long you stayed out each time, and the way you had already been in a comatose state before hand. I'm...very glad to have you back. I don't have many friends, really. Mostly comrades in arms. But you were different, I suppose. Even if I doubted you and occasionally opposed you...you still were willing to make amends, no matter what I had said or done."

I was getting uncomfortable with this, and she was obviously feeling awkward too. The both of us were saved her having to continue when the door burst open, admitting a storm of sparkles and loud noise.

"My dear Stephanie! Lieutenant Havoc told us that you were well once again! This is most invigorating news!"

A slightly more sedate Roy Mustang followed Armstrong in, closing the door firmly behind him. They both walked to the bedside, Armstrong still waxing poetic about my 'miraculous recovery' while Roy just examined me, expression blank. Had I done something wrong? Eventually, Roy held a hand up, stopping Armstrongs' spiel. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before sighing and opening them once more.

"Report, Lieutenant."

Riza was giving him a scowl that would make a grizzly bear nervous and Armstrong was also eyeing him slightly for the blunt treatment. I sat up as straight as I could to give the report, eyes going to the blanket covering my legs. How much of the truth do I tell? Would they even believe half of it? I still couldn't believe I had managed to get all of my fingers working well enough to escape. True they weren't perfect by any means, but still...And then there was the way I had used my mind palace as a torture resistance technique. Do I explain it? _Can _I explain it? Would they feel wronged that I had kept it from them even after they told me everything and came clean? Or would they not believe that either? And how could I face them after revealing it was my own fault, that this had happened because I was an idiot and meddled where I shouldn't have? Because I wasn't smart enough to evade detection?

"Lieutenant."

I looked up at him, still unsure. What do I tell them?


	38. Chapter 38

**Third Person Point of View**

"Report, Lieutenant."

Roy was being harsh, looking unaffected as Stephanie stared at her legs, getting her thoughts together.

"Lieutenant."

His not so gentle rebuke had her flinching slightly, like a kicked puppy, her thoughts clear on her face, wondering what she might have done to deserve the slightly cruel treatment, not even considering that Roy could the one in the wrong at the moment. He was distancing himself, or trying to. Riza could tell. It had been a long time since he had been able to successfully hide his emotions from her. His shaking hands, clasped tightly behind his back, betrayed how much he hated this entire situation.

She knew he blamed himself for this, but he needed to _know_. He needed to know if it was his fault-his plans, his orders-that landed their little Stephanie into this mess. And if it was then he was going to keep this behavior up. He was going to drive her away, get her safely away from him and the danger his climb up the ladder of this corrupt country was going to bring, was already bringing.

Riza knew better. And so did Alex. They both were aware of how the woman, teenager really, would follow him to hell with only a snarky remark about the weather, even if she wasn't able to handle it. She would try anyway, just for him. If this was his fault then she would forgive him, no matter the pain, no matter what it was she had actually gone through. He could get away with murder. Hell, if she found out he _had _killed someone she'd only sigh and take the body off his hands and no one would ever find the poor fucker. Or she'd frame his enemies for it. She always was scary good with forensics. Kept referencing some friend of hers named 'Detective Holmes' who had all sorts of revolutionary ideas.

When she took a deep breath and sat up straighter everyone in the room tensed, but she wasn't paying attention to them. She was studiously ignoring everyone, as if ashamed of the story she had to tell.

"Anyone got chalk? Or a marker? I should create a-"

Riza laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, shooting a look at Roy.

"The Colonel finally took a look at the notes you left him on the privacy arrays. We've had them in place the moment you were moved into this room."

She nodded in thanks, breathing deeply once again to begin her story.

"I boarded the train at the station in Central, and nothing seemed amiss until the train stopped. Someone was going to ask the conductor what was wrong when he entered the room and promptly fell dead. We were taken by surprise by armed men coming from behind as well. I sustained an injury to the back of the head before I knew about them. I was then moved to a secondary location, I don't know what happened to the others who were on the train."

She paused for breath and Roy was bracing himself for what came next, Armstrong resolutely staring straight at the wall, while Riza resisted the urge to take her hand.

"In the secondary location I woke up secured to a chair. All of my personal effects including my coat were gone. My hands were bound apart so that I was unable to use alchemy. Any circles that had been on my person were erased or removed."

Riza observed Roy suppress a wince at that. He knew how terrible it was to have something that powerful, that _defining_, taken away unexpectedly just when it was needed most.

"It wasn't long before two men entered the room, the one who killed the conductor and one who I did not recognize. I'm going to call him Baldy because he wasn't considerate enough to give a name."

Armstrong gave the smallest of smiles at that, and Riza suppressed her own. Stephanie's usual snark was still there, a good thing. Definitely a good thing.

"Baldy was wheeling in a cart of...tools."

Roy actually did wince at that, the memory of the 'tools' they'd seen no doubt surfacing in his mind, covered in blood. Riza scowled at the mere mention of them, glaring at nothing as the story went on.

"It was made clear that someone of high rank told them that I was responsible for their monetary troubles and became obvious that they were briefed about a majority of my capabilities. A man, tall, slim, long dark hair, small eyes, made the other two leave and informed me that Drachma was a means to an end, and that my hard work and meddling had earned me that...vacation."

That had been what Roy had feared and Armstrong closed his eyes, bowing his head as the Colonel beside him tensed.

"They asked questions and when I didn't, or even couldn't, answer...Baldy became _violent_."

Riza felt tears welling up in her eyes but she quashed that before it could begin. Things like that happened, she'd known other soldiers before who'd undergone this sort of hardship.

_But those soldiers weren't 18. And tiny, so, so tiny._

"Before I continue there is something like a confession I need to make in regards to the illness I have mentioned before that applies here."

Riza zeroed in on the girl in front of her, her comrades beside her also startled by the shift in the retelling.

"It's...actually not uncommon in the children up to the age of 12, but never to the extent that I had it. It's not usually considered a disease, or even an illness, because it's not something that would be harmful under ordinary circumstances. It's eidetic memory. Every single detail, exact, perfect, crisp, and clear. Never forgotten. This is usually a neat thing, something that can be ooohed and awwed over, and then forgotten about, ironically enough. This is because even eidetic memory fades slightly over several days to normal memory and the ability itself never lasts beyond childhood. Except for with me."

Riza stood patiently, waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the rest of it to be explained while understanding dawned in Roy's eyes. He always had been able to reach conclusions slightly before her. Whatever it was he had realized confused him. His expression changed too many times to properly gauge before he settled on a blank mask that didn't hide the pain very well at all. Riza just focused on what she was hearing, mating it with memories of odd eye movements, scary accurate accounts of cases, and the ways she just _knew _where paperwork had been put.

"My memory never fades, ever. Everything remains the same, always. I can't get rid of it. My head is full to busting sometimes and I just keep taking in more. There was a time I wanted to bang my head against a wall until I could get amnesia just to forget something. But my brother came up with a pseudo-solution to keep me from going insane. It's an exercise of mental control that takes the form of a metaphorical house, called a 'mind palace'. In essence, it is a place to literally organize thought, memory, and information in such a way that I kind find it and it doesn't drive me crazy. With that background out of the way, I was faced with torture so I sank into myself and hid inside that mind palace. I can't tell you exactly what happened during that time."

There was guilty relief in the air and Alex once again looked back at her, hope filling those expressive eyes, still much more subdued than he usually was.

"But this is good news, you do not remember the most...horrifying parts."

Stephanie shot him a small, shy smile before quickly going back to staring at the blankets on top of her legs.

"But that's the kicker. I experienced it, even though my mind wasn't necessarily paying attention at the time my body cataloged what was going on. At the moment it is all behind a rather innocuous door on the second story that I plan on never opening. But then again, under some circumstances it could open again on its own, I just have to be careful about it and it should stay sealed."

She looked defeated, tired beyond reason for someone who had just 'slept' for weeks. She didn't look up at their expressions, determinedly staring at her legs instead.

"So, I stayed well away from that shit. This is probably the time when the doctor assumed I was in a coma. Once I registered through the dragons pulse that I was alone I returned to the real world, and found that I wasn't secured. It quickly became apparent why. If I weren't an alchemist then I wouldn't have been able to continue from there."

There was a collective wince at that, everyone present remembered the room she had been held in, the state of it.

"As it was I nearly rolled over and prayed for death but I'm not really the 'giving up' kind of person. So I healed the injuries that kept me from continuing immediately."

That admission had Roy bowing his head, knuckles white.

"I used my thumbs to draw the circles and my teeth to take the bandages off, from there the eight fingers that they put in the bowl took about an hour to reattach in a way that they would still be useful."

Alex's shoulders started shaking the moment she said 'reattach' and Riza started making plans to have a 'chat' with the doctor who had sneeringly suggested she had ruined the digits herself. Roy's shoulders were hunched and for once Riza wasn't sure she wanted to know what he had planned for those involved in this.

"I drew a circle on one of my hands for use if I encountered anyone and escaped the cell, avoiding people for as long as possible and eventually seeking shelter in an empty room. I couldn't go any further so I barricaded the door using alchemy and sat down to rest. I hadn't intended to fall asleep but I'm assuming blood loss caused me to pass out at that point."

Riza is almost positive that Roy is remembering finding her, because she knows she is. There was so much blood seeping through the bandages, and on her hands as well, like gloves of crimson paint that had dried in place.

"I was aware of when the military arrived, I remember the Colonel entering the room and I had a vague sense of leaving it. From there you know what happened."

After a beat of silence she held up one her slightly trembling hands to eye the scars,

"I'm told that someone else operated on my hands, they did a shit job. I'm going to have to re-do it. I can't move them at all. My joints catch, you've all seen when I have to pop the lot of 'em to keep them moving without seizing up."

They did see it, and they were most likely kicking themselves for not realizing it wasn't a simple focusing technique. Riza was already planning on forcing more physicals for the girl, more in depth ones at that. She didn't want to be left in the dark about a condition like that again. She would already have been berating the girl for her previous silence if she didn't look so defeated already.

"Right now when they move they catch against nerves, or twist around them or something. Honestly, I think he just went in and tied them into knots around the bone. Most likely while laughing maniacally."

The bandages on her arms caught the light and she transferred her attention to them, curiosity peeking through.

"I never did see exactly what happened to my arms. Guess I'm going to have to give up those 3-quarter sleeves I like. Long sleeves only, from now on I suppose."

Roy couldn't take it anymore, tense and about to blow. He whirled around, expression a deadly, frightening calm. He stalked out of the room, leaving Stephanie to glance up at his receding back before turning to the two remaining officers, more vulnerable than ever.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Riza's heart seized and she moved forward, gently threading her fingers into the girls hair, supporting her head with that hand as the other helped maneuver her to lay down.

"No, Stephanie. Nothing like that. Just go back to sleep for now. He just needs to get his head in order."

She looked unconvinced, but lay down anyway, grumbling.

"I've probably slept enough, ya know."

Riza only rolled her eyes, continuing to run her fingers through soft brown hair. She nodded to Alex, who had been hovering in the doorway. A single look conveyed all he needed to know. They were going to find who set up their officer, and they were going to tear them to pieces. If Roy bothered to leave them as anything more than ashes, that is.


	39. Chapter 39

I was kept in the hospital overnight for observation, despite my miraculous good health. It gave me plenty of time to think over Roy's reaction to my story. I had several theories about why he left without a word and didn't return. He could not believe me, believe me and think me to be an utter simpleton for being caught in the first place, or he could not know what to think so he distanced himself in order to give himself some time. Riza was apparently a fan of that last one, and Armstrong hadn't returned either.

I slept off and on, waking up to make sure I was actually safe before drifting off again. The drugs were keeping the dreams away and I didn't relish the thought of trying to sleep without them. Scheska visited the next morning, as I was dressing to leave. Jean had brought one of my few long sleeved shirts along with an outfit to wear home. When Scheska came in she wasn't waving flowers like most of my other coworkers who had visited. No, this saint had a soda. She received a hug and tearful declaration of love that had Jean laughing his ass off in the background.

Riza drove us home in a military car, watching from the road to make sure we made it to the building before peeling away with a wave. The stairs were difficult to manage after so long of not using any of my muscles but Jean was patient, and we made it eventually. I felt the relief the moment I entered the apartment, my transmutations flaring back to life, having lost most of their energy with my long absence. I breathed in the feeling of _safe _for several long moments before Jean was steering me towards the phone.

"Come on now, you have friends to call. They've been beating themselves up over not being able to run to the rescue so pull out your thingamajig and get them on the line."

I snorted, glaring playfully and reaching into my coat pocket,

"It's called a 'sonic screwdriver' and I doubt-"

I cut myself off, tapping all of my pockets with a frown before realization hit me once again.

"Oh, that's right. They took it. I...hadn't realized that. I'll have to make a new one…"

My devastated expression had Jean backing away pointing to the phone,

"That's fine, you'll have plenty of leave time to tinker away all you want! For now just call them the old fashioned way, alright?"

I nodded, dolefully dialing the number for Ed and Maes safe house. After the second ring Edward picked up, voice strained, a code that was funny to begin with seeming sad now.

"Fish market, Shark speaking...Jean?"

"...Fish are friends, not food."

"STEPHANIE!"

There was a crash from the other end of the line and the sound of scuffle before Maes voice sounded through the phone, slightly distant,

"Ha, shrimp, see if you can snatch it away from all the way up here!"

A half a beat later he was coming through loud and clear.

"Stephanie, is that really you?"

I smiled, sinking onto the couch,

"The one and only."

"We're so glad you're okay. We were worried there for a while, when you didn't...but you're awake now, and that's all that matters, I suppose. How are you holding up?"

I glanced over at where Jean was shuffling around in the fridge for something to throw together for dinner.

"I'm fine, Maes. I kinda tuned out of most of it, so all I really have now are the scars, and I haven't even seen most of those yet...I'll have to fix my fingers soon though. The specialist was in the Fuhrers pocket, I'm sure of it. As it is I can barely hold the phone properly."

Static surged across the line as he sighed into the phone.

"Jeez, Steph. I wish this kind of thing hadn't happened to you. You don't deserve this."

"No one deserves this. Probably better me than someone else."

The sound of a phone being snatched away viciously reached my ears and Edward snarled into it,

"Don't say things like that! It shouldn't have been you, end of story!"

I snorted,

"Oh? But what if it might have been Al instead?"

Silence.

"See? It doesn't matter anyway, it's over with. We put our behinds in the past, put the past behind us. I've still got legs, I can keep moving forwards."

I really needed sleep, I was mixing references.

Edward's voice was small when he spoke next,

"I'm sorry Stephanie."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. You weren't the one who sold me out, you didn't abduct me, or throw me in a cell."

"No, but I should have gone looking for you-"

I snorted, waving a hand around, not caring that he couldn't see it.

"Edward, there's no way you could have even gotten to the same part of the country I was in before the military got there. There's no use for that kind of thinking. Like I said, the past is behind us, unless I finally get that damned time machine working. Don't hold your breath on that by the way, my Sonic Screwdriver was taken away, so my research is stagnating until I replace it."

He made a strangled sound,

"I don't know which part of that madness to address first."

After a beat of silence he spoke again.

"Is it dangerous for someone like them to have that kind of tech lying around?"

I snorted before slipping into a downright cackle. When I could breathe again I answered.

"This whole debacle was a result of my own idiotic hubris, but I still hold by the belief that my alchemical theory is uncrackable. You might be able to understand if it I lay out exactly what led me to think the way I did while making it, but as it is background knowledge is key to understanding the thing. We'll find who's messing around with it easily enough because the small black hole type deal they'll open in their workroom."

"...black hole? The 'wormhole in outer space where nothing exists inside' kind of black hole that you told me about?"

"Yup." I popped the 'p' on the end, grinning as I imagined his expression.

"...how?" Alchemists, curiosity of cats, the lot of 'em. Or 'us' I suppose.

"Well, it's bigger on the inside. If they crack it open to see what makes it tick then it has to equalize somehow. You can't make something out of nothing so the reintroduction of the pocket dimension into the main planes of existence will cause...disturbances to say the least."

He made a strangled noise, "Then shouldn't we find it, ya know, before they destroy the planet or something?"

I snorted, "Yeah, localized, it will be extremely localized. Three feet square max, theoretically. I did the math, obviously. I was dicking around with the stuff in my living room, I wanted to know all the dangers and shit."

He took a deep breath to ask more questions but there was the sound of the phone being forcefully taken from him and Maes was back on the line.

"You two could talk shop for centuries if I let you, so I'm going to be the adult here and say bedtime! You need rest, Steph, you sound exhausted."

I glared at the main body of the phone, ignoring the way Jean snickered at my expression.

"I slept for, like, weeks! I don't need rest!"

Jean chimed in,

"Actually, the doc said that you should stick to bed rest and have plenty of fluids for at least a few day's."

I glared at him, and Maes chided me through the phone.

"See, there you go! Call us back whenever you get properly rested, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll call you back."

Dinner that night was eaten on the couch, takeout from the chinese-ish place with several cartons of the roll things I liked. It was somewhat like he was replaying the night before I left, maybe like a re-do, this time without the abduction and torture the next day. I don't think he realized it but I let it go on regardless, besides, I was lucky enough to convince him to ignore the doctor's orders about my diet and get him to fetch takeout.

The TV flickered over us I huddled further down into the blankets, glancing around at the room. It's good to be home.


	40. Chapter 40

Being home was wonderful, but sometimes I lost where I was. Occasionally the door would open, that door in my mind that was chained closed. When I slept the chains _moved_, like snakes, they would release their hold on the wood and curl up on the floor in tangled heaps. Then the horrors within would be unleashed on my unconscious mind. I would wake up shaking and disoriented, tense to the point of snapping. There would be no more rest for me that night, and the day following such a night terror would be dark and barely productive.

The first time it happened was on my third night home. I felt lucky to have been given _that _much of a break. I dreamed of what happened in that cell, the things I had repressed before, the pain I had ignored. It all came back to me. And I couldn't hide from it anymore. When I finally woke from the nightmare I wasn't able to tell where I was. It took Jean almost two hours to calm me down. I felt bad for that, he didn't sign up to have to deal with my PTSD. I told him he was welcome to go home and that I would take the blame for it with Mustang but he turned me down, furious.

"I'm not leaving you now that you need help! What kind of friend would I be?"

God bless anime sensibilities.

Other times when I woke up I was delirious. I would mutter about things he couldn't see, things that I knew that I had stocked up ages ago. I would switch languages without a thought, and I think at some points it honestly scared him. Looking back through those memories I could clearly see I was irrational, but at the time everything I did or said made sense and seemed utterly important. I could see that he would call Maes, hysterical and needing help.

After one particularly bad time I wrote out the formula for my old meds, the ones I hadn't needed since boot camp. I handed them over to Jean reluctantly, telling him to give it to an alchemist he trusted to have it made up for me.

"It helped before, when I was younger. I haven't needed it since I got to Amestris but...it might be a good time to start taking them again."

My overall health was shit, it declined drastically the moment the memories started poking through. I lost weight, lost interest in eating, occasionally lost interest in even my research. I couldn't do much on that front anyway for the longest time. It wasn't recommended for me to use alchemy for a while, so Jean kept me away from actually practicing it, meaning that my fingers were bound into tight bandages that kept movement to a minimum.

About two and half weeks into my leave time I was at my lowest point. The nightmares were vivid, and the helplessness caused by being without full use of my fingers only aggravated the problem. I wasn't thinking completely clearly, Jean had to sedate me the day before for some reason or another, I couldn't remember, the sedative made it all annoyingly fuzzy. But the drugs had caused me to sleep enough that I could think straight-ish. This time Jean woke to the scene from a nightmare.

I was sitting on the bathroom floor, surrounded by the remains of circles that had been sketched out in blood, the bandages from my fingers spread all over the room. I had cut into one of my wrists in order to get the blood needed to draw the circles, all writing utensils had been hidden after I was sedated for whatever reason. I'd had to dig out the small knife I usually used to peel apples, hidden in a gap between drawers mostly by accident. The bandages were ripped off with my teeth and I spent hours in the middle of the night just setting everything to how it was supposed to be. Of course, I healed up the cut on my wrist, but the blood loss had left me dizzy. When Jean opened the door at seven that morning I think he nearly had a heart attack.

I was too out of it to protest when he picked me up and that set off warning bells in my mind. Maybe I had gone too far...again. It was extremely difficult to look anyone in the eye whenever they visited me in the hospital...again. Elicia and Gracia were terrible, sending guilt and regret surging through me with every word. I regretted not waiting for permission to fix my fingers, I really did. Slitting one of my wrists in order to get something to write with was the peak of dumb. But I was still muddled from the sedatives and just so damn desperate to not be so helpless anymore. Riza was furious with me, and even Alex Louis Armstrong marched into my room in a righteous fury, and I'm very glad he did. It helped clear up misconceptions.

"Lieutenant Arcaro you bring shame to your great family name! Attempting to end your life like that when you could have asked us for help!"

He wanted to go on and normally I would have let him rant it out, but I needed to clear that up right now. "I wasn't trying to kill myself."

That caused the entire room to pause in slight disbelief. Riza was there, as well as several others I had come to know as 'friend'. I rolled my eyes at their expressions and looked out the window at the sunlight, trying to concentrate on the words with the drugs steadily dripping into my veins making my thoughts cloudy.

"I...wasn't thinking clearly. I had just woken from another...memory and I was just so damn helpless. My fingers weren't moving and they hurt so damn much and no one would let me _fix _things even though I was able...so I just needed something to write with. After the...dream I had it made sense to use blood, that's what I had used then as well. I wasn't trying to..._end _things."

With that straightened out, there was a dramatic decrease in people yelling at me. And the guards who had been standing in the room were dismissed after only an hour or so more. Apparently, I had been on suicide watch. As if, I had too much left to do. Besides, suicide's how my Uncle Remmy went, I'm not doing that to the people I care about. And they do care, someone always cares, and words can't express how relieved I am of that.

The person who hurt me the most was Roy. He didn't even say anything to me. He walked in, ignored me, whispered something to Riza and left. Didn't even look my way. I'd finally done it, become more trouble than I was worth. I'd have to work on that if I ever wanted to have a chance to be useful and trusted again. Hours after everyone left I just sat up in bed and examined my scars. They were like a jigsaw puzzle, interlocking, jagged pieces that looked like the lines on a microchip, only they didn't end in circles, only where other 'puzzle pieces' began. It was like a maze, one that didn't have an ending. On my right wrist there was a slash across the middle that dissected some of the delicate lines. Slightly raised and silvery they weren't the easiest thing to hide with makeup so I knew I would probably never try.

The next day Jean was allowed to take me home again. I was allowed to use alchemy once more, if only to keep me out of trouble. I didn't launch head first into my research, as Jean had expected, but instead drew out blank paper and a pencil, tearing it in two. I wrote down the materials I would need for the week and pointed to my bedroom door.

"Grab my pocket watch so you can get the money. If I'm going to get anywhere then I'll need things to work with. I promise I'll be on my best behavior."

As it was Scheska was left to babysit whenever Jean needed to leave for work, groceries, or my 'materials'.

The very first things I made were a pair of gloves. Straight out of a Naruto manga, fingerless gloves that hid my knuckles and fit snugly enough that I could still move normally. The metal plating on the back of the hand was something that I amused myself by adding. I originally meant to add the leaf symbol and let the world wonder, but I ended up putting the devils trap from Supernatural. It wasn't useful in the least, but it looked pretty bad ass.

I refused to put transmutation circles on it just yet. That would copy Roy a bit too much, and he's already angry enough with me as it is. If we had been on better terms I would have said 'fuck my morals' and figured out his flame alchemy to have one more trick up my sleeve. But I won't risk more of his ire. As it was by putting the devils traps anyone unfamiliar with alchemy would think I was armed. And putting one more fandom reference out where no one would ever appreciate it wasn't going to harm anything.

Jean didn't react when I immediately pulled on the gloves, he didn't ask so I didn't tell. I spent an entire day working on the metal places. I used the formula for my bulletproof armor and did my best to recreate Wonder Woman's badass bracelets that deflected bullets. At the very least they would do some good in a knife fight, which is what they were meant for in Naruto, ironically enough. The next few days went to doing an overhaul on the design for my Sonic Screwdriver, and then bringing it together better than ever.

It was a month until I built up enough strength to go for a run. It was miserable, muscle atrophy sucks big time. I was in terrible shape once again, despite all the work I had gone through previously. I was in for a long road to recovery, but at least I had friends to help. Well, except for Roy. I'm not sure what I did wrong on that front, and trying to ask 'what' get's me weird looks.

I was working at the kitchen table, sonic in one hand, normal screwdriver in the other, attempting to crack open a certain panel to tweak with a few innards when the urge to ask finally swept over me. Jean was draining the boiling water from a pot of noodles, and I glanced up at him through my hair, pausing in my work.

"Jean?"

He poured the last of the water, setting the pot back on the stove before turning to stir the sauce.

"Yeah, Steph?"

"...what did I do to make Roy angry with me?"

The can Jean was moving to set on the counter hit the floor instead and he stood there, staring at it. When he didn't move I stood, shaky still from my run earlier, and waddled over to pick it up for him, holding it up with a questioning expression. He shook his head, avoiding eye contact and turning back to the recipe I wrote down for him some months ago.

"Who can say, really? He has a lot on his mind lately, it'd probably be best to just forget about it."

I just stared at his back, completely blindsided.

"Forget about it? How the hell would I do that? If I've done something wrong I need to fix it so things are fine when I'm able to go back to work."

He set the spoon down roughly, still not looking at me, head bowed over a pot and eyes hidden from view by the bangs he'd allowed to grow out.

"Riza was supposed to tell you."

Ohhh, this is ominous.

"Tell me what? I haven't seen her since I was in the hospital last."

Jean sighed, turning away to grab a jar of spices to throw into the sauce, resolutely not looking at me.

"Just before you went to the hospital the second time the paperwork went through. You were transferred back to the investigations division. When you go back to work next month you won't be working with Roy anymore."

My thoughts came crashing to a halt. There was a crisis in the plotting center where all of my plans were crumbling to dust. I was being shut out of everything, and I wasn't even sure what I had done wrong. I croaked, my throat suddenly feeling funny.

"What?"

Jean was silent and I didn't bother to wait more than a few seconds. I turned sharply, looking over my notes, closing the book gently before setting the sonic down on top of it. I walked towards my room,

"I'm not hungry at the moment Jean."

This time he didn't bother to argue with me about how I needed to eat.

Research was painfully slow going after that. I worked on my sonic, but half of my mind was on all of those plans I had that were unraveling at the seams. If I wanted to know what was going on then I would have to spy on them. I wouldn't be the 'good guy' anymore, but nor would I run out to join the 'bad guys'. Grey always has been my favorite color. But the guilt I felt for that was terrible. Dumbledore always got a lot of shit because of his scheming for the 'greater good', was I any better? Did I really know better? I was just as clueless now as any of these people, and Edward Elric was more genius than me any day of the week. If he had access to the wonders of the internet like I sort of did then there would be no contest.

So should I stay out of it like they wanted me too? Should I meddle where I don't belong? Or should I just sit around and deal with whatever comes my way?

Calling Edward and Maes shed no light on the subject. They were cordial enough, but the moment I asked about the status of things they clammed up, refused to give me answers. Told me this wasn't my fight. I wanted to call bullshit, to rage, and scream, and cry like the teenager I wasn't ever allowed to truly be. But I controlled myself. I thanked him, and I hung up.

I could prove myself competent, that's always possible. I would just have to throw myself headfirst into a worthy cause. I would do my work once again, and I would be damn good at it. Because otherwise, this story is going to continue on without me.


	41. Chapter 41

Going back to work wasn't as difficult as I had assumed it would be. I had thought that it would be this terrible ordeal where I would be too weak to continue at points, and that I would actively pine over Roy since he was once again out of reach. Apparently 'I am a strong independent woman who doesn't need no man' *insert meme here*. I wasn't crippled because he was gone, and it really should have occurred to me before that it wouldn't work like that. We hadn't exactly worked hand in hand before all of this happened. Honestly, I might work better away from him where I can get over the idiotic fangirl crush and focus on what I'm doing.

As for being too weak, I had thrown myself into physical conditioning with a vigor that had downright sickened Jean. I was nowhere near where I had been before but I was better than your average civilian at least.

I ended up moderately happy where I was. I hadn't realized it, but I had missed investigating. It was where I thrived, where I was at my most useful. I didn't touch anything to do with Drachma and devoted myself to solving all manners of crimes and catching criminals. Occasionally something to do with homunculi or the 'Promised Day' would crop up, I would feed that directly to Maes and Edward, with Fullmetal contacting Roy about it. I was too much of a coward to approach him myself, whenever I had glimpsed him he wouldn't even acknowledge my existence.

It was run of the mill cases, mostly, for several weeks. A murder or two that tripped up other teams for weeks, but that only took two all-nighters for me and my team. My 'team' was Sheska and June, both of whom I had met through Maes. When we needed muscle we called in Armstrong or another team. We were the only all female team, but we kicked some major ass. Our record was squeaky clean and damn impressive. Between both mine and Scheska's memories, and June's OCD personality we were above reproach, so no sexist bastard was getting us on a technicality. When Scheska turned pale reading a file folder I knew I had finally found something interesting.

She handed it over to me and I couldn't stop a manic grin from growing, thoroughly freaking out the few paperwork runners who were in the room. I practically cackled, standing and popping my joints, sweeping on my black coat and tucking the folder under my arm.

"See you later, girls. We've finally got a drug lord on our hands!"

Word probably spread from there that I was entirely too excited to be fighting drug trafficking, but I didn't care. Drug trafficking was something that I had actually considered doing at one point. I had so much to go off of, I could run the best damn smuggling ring this dimension had ever seen. But I finally decided it wasn't worth it, breaking the law and all that. I figured Maes would be disappointed, and I didn't really need the money. If Roy had ever said our little revolution was in need of cash however…

* * *

A drug-related murder was what had gotten me involved. Powder fucking everywhere, and wasn't it beautiful. I made a note to check over my mental facilities because something about that sentence didn't seem right. I was grinning like a loon as I stalked up to the scene, taking my fingerless gloves off with my teeth in order to snap on some latex ones. I stuffed my gloves into my coat as I drew closer, raking my eyes over the scene. General Ford caught sight of me and just sighed, motioning his people out of the way.

"All right, Arcaro, do your thing. We're all listening."

Good, after the memorable way I'd had to prove myself a few weeks ago I was glad there was no need for a repeat.

I was already off, talking in my best tenth doctor voice as I crouched down by the body.

"Drugs! We finally have drugs! I've been waiting years, practically, to get a drug case. Let's see what we have here, ah! Speeeed, my friend. Or a precursor at least. The neanderthals can't even pump out a simple amphetamine. This stuff's _brown_, they have so many impurities still. Can't fetch more than 1G for alllll this shit. In Amestrian money you're looking at barely one car payment. Well,that's what it's worth, I suppose, but when dealing with an itching junkie you can ask whatever the hell you want for it. Which is what happened here."

I poked aside a bit of the powder, ignoring how my audience flinched as blue alchemic lightning danced along my fingertips in response to me humming a few notes. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Oh, these idiots. Phenyl Aminopropane. The most impure this stuff can get and still be called recreational. And it _is _recreational. The medical stuff is much higher of quality, and smaller of quantity. The way the hydrogens are lining up is wonky too, they're probably using out of date equipment. Man, this is like a Breaking Bad knockoff. They're probably selling this out of a van. Anyway, this guy is our junkie, died of overdose. Robbed his dealer blind, you're going to be finding his body around here somewhere, and then tried to take as much of this stuff as humanly possible. Overstimulated the heart, ended up with cardiac arrest. All wounds were superficial, most likely from the earlier altercation where he acquired the drugs. Now on the other hand-"

Someone to my right cleared their throat,

"And how do you know this again, Arcaro?"

Hanes. That _absolute _dickwad. He is the Anderson to my Sherlock, and some days the only thing stopping me from offing him and chunking the body is how disappointed Maes would be for me using what he taught me to do harm to an 'ally'. Besides, he's pretty to look at, right up until he opens his mouth. Then he's just not fucking worth it. Blonde hair, floppy and swept back most of the time, with piercing blue eyes and some hella sharp cheekbones. If his attitude weren't shit I would be pining after him like the rest of the military. The men were not immune to his charms, either.

I rolled my eyes and refused to look up from where I was carefully sifting through evidence, poking around the ME's abandoned equipment.

"I'll put it in the report, like always. Do you need pictures this time? I could probably draw diagrams if you're having trouble understanding simple sentences."

General Ford sighed, pinching his nose between forefinger and thumb,

"Now, now, children, behave."

Hanes sniffed,

"Tell that to this psychopath, getting all excited about drugs, of all things."

Oh, the opportunity is too great. I wanted to question it, but then again I didn't. It was even coming from my version of Anderson. Oh, the fandom gods were smiling on me today. I didn't miss a beat.

"I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath, do your research."

Some Americanized British accent poked through, but I couldn't have been more proud. However, several around me were looking at me strangely. Ah, right, they don't get that it's a reference. They probably think I'm serious. Oh well, I'm already known to be eccentric anyway.

I struck, only somewhat figurative, gold whilst digging through the burst powder bags, and forgot all about my co-workers currently questioning my mental state.

"Heellooo, what have we here?"

There was a small bag, hidden among the other, still intact brown packages. I sucked in a breath, picking it up reverently, revealing three more just like it underneath. Pale pink.

"Oh, aren't you the pure cut? This, now this is fucking gold. Purest shit I've ever seen, jeez."

I stood, dusting the dirt and trace drugs from my uniform pants, handing the small bag over to Ford.

"This is a sample. It's got next to no impurities, unlike this other stuff. From the looks of things, the brown stuff goes to the small fry in the streets to get the network going or keep it moving while management changes. But this is the money maker. These smaller sample sizes are taken to other dealers, used to make connections, bargained for other types of drugs. This could be a real problem. We aren't looking at small time stuff. From what I see here this isn't a localized problem anymore. I joked earlier about a drug lord, but that might not be so far off the mark. I'll write the report to formalize a more complete explanation, but these guys aren't setting up a grid for small time cash. This is some major players trying to form _Empires_."

Hanes face was scrunched up, and he looked down his nose at me.

"Are you sure about that? It seems to me like they were simply trying to sell a new type of drug."

I rolled my eyes, waving a packet of drugs in front of his face.

"Helllooooo, this is primo product, here. There are several different kinds in there, yes, but all of it is the cream of the crop. They're _expanding_. And they were pretty sizable already from the looks of this."

I turned around to get a better look at one of the packages and he scoffed from behind me.

"We'll investigate and see for ourselves. This is just another drug deal gone wrong, the dealer is dead, problem solved."

I groaned,

"Oh, Hanes, don't talk out loud, you lower the IQ of the whole street."

I pointed to the ME who froze once he realized I was motioning to him. "This man died of cardiac arrest, did he not?"

There was a nervous nod and I went on, "Brought on by overdose which resulted in overproduction of dopamine, am I correct?"

He shrugged uncomfortably, "Well, I'll have to take him to the lab and get tests run, but that sounds about right."

I nodded sharply, glancing at Ford before pulling off the latex gloves and turning to leave.

"There, druggy, not dealer. Everyone knows that no one who uses is allowed to deal, makes for conflict of interest. You'll have my report later, General. If you could have someone send me the file's and crime scene photos we'll take a look into the spread of this empire. Because it _is _spreading. You'll want to catch it before it crosses the border, that would be embarrassing."

I turned, waving cheekily to Hanes, and nearly froze when my brown eyes met deep black. Roy was there, face blank and watching the proceedings. I let my eyes slide over him from where he was facing another soldier giving a report but ignoring him completely to focus on the rant I had been doing. I kept turning, breathing deeply to calm down as I walked away and putting my head down. Maybe this could be my ticket back into his good graces. Taking down a drug trafficking ring. Or maybe he suspects _me _for it. I did mention to him that I could make drugs, and he doesn't exactly like me anymore...then again, he knows my alchemical skill. He knows I'd downright refuse to push out product that was anything less than perfection because I'm a perfectionist at heart. And I would never be this sloppy. Cleanup crews would already have swept through here, cataloging drugs and clearing out the evidence.

Oh, that's something else to take into account. No doubt 'they' know the crime scene is here, so it's not too much of a stretch to say they'd be more on their guard now that the drugs are on the military radar. Just one more variable to worry about. I would give myself a month. One month at most and I would have this dealt with. If that didn't earn back their trust in my abilities then I wasn't sure what would.


	42. Chapter 42

It had to have been Hanes. Someone up the ladder was trying to get me off the case but I wasn't letting that happen. All attempts failed, and the girls held down the office while I did field work. It was simple enough to dress in civilian clothes and pose as a druggy looking for a fix. I really need to look into eating more, this isn't healthy. I wasn't the slimmest person walking the street, but at least I had some muscle to me, these guys were bone and discolored skin held together with hope and desperation. I tagged the money I used to buy the drugs with tracking circles done with homemade invisible ink. I was particularly proud of that thought bubble.

The cork board in our office had pictures of the small fry we were watching, as well as those we had busted already as a front, a pretty show of 'taking care of the problem' to appease the media and higher ups, and put the big fish at ease that we're somewhat incompetent. There were maps with routes highlighted various colors, showing which day of the week certain drugs moved, and where the money ended up. Every Sunday everything was dumped back into one location, after doing a merry loop around all of Central. Very few times did anything leave the city or get put back into legal circulation. Though a great deal did end up in various strip clubs I wasn't even aware the city _had _until I stumbled into them undercover. June had laughed herself sick when I came back smelling of alcohol and looking thoroughly confused, telling them where I'd ended up.

I had hardcore plans for the assholes who opened a soda company that added addictive drugs to the base formula. I myself had stayed away from the stuff. I'm a loyalist, I found a brand my first week here and stuck to it with a vengeance. The new guys were going to fucking suffer for messing with soda, though. It was a ridiculous scam that I had heard of being used before in my dimension. It shouldn't be all that surprising that something similar was concocted here. I had markers beside those from certain groups, and the ones that overlapped the most were labeled prime targets.

I had my eye on a certain middling level dealer who conveniently split just in time to evade arrest. After that I went through the investigative department plugging leaks with the force of a flamethrower. I got a court order for that little internal investigation and used the opportunity to pass more info to Roy, via Edward or Riza of course, about anything to do with homunculi and preparations for the promised day. I kept everything close to my chest after that. When it came time to do raids I knew it would have to happen all at once or not all. If so much as one warehouse was put off then those who weren't caught would take the dregs of the business and flee. They would either set up somewhere else or resume business with new locations under slightly different management. This was like Hydra, cut off one head and more will grow to replace it. Therefore we had to cut off all heads simultaneously while rather violently cauterizing the wounds.

There was a network of snitches and spooks throughout the city who would tell me when big deals went down, and where. I collected evidence, and waited for the big fish to gather. I took names of the ones within the military who accepted payoffs to look the other way but let them be, instead getting someone to watch them. They were going down too, when all of this was over. And I wasn't going to be boarding any trains for a while, but I wasn't going to stop meddling. Not completely.

I worked with the legal department, getting cases together for each person involved, be it the small timers on the streets or the tycoons running the entire shebang. Everyone had a file, everyone had evidence. It took almost the entire month to get enough evidence to put everyone away. I was going to need serious manpower in order to raid thirteen warehouses and sixteen lesser locations, all on a synchronized schedule. Oh, I had ways to make it run like clockwork, but I still needed warm bodies to carry guns and look intimidating. So I went to Brigadier General Armstrong. She has quite the following, and she's the highest ranking person I'm acquainted with. I would have gone to Roy, would have preferred to actually, but we're still not speaking. When I lined everything out for her and asked for authorization for the men, equipment, and permission to run the raids I was met with a smile a shark would shiver to see.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, girl. I will sign this. On one condition."

She let me sweat it out for a few moments before the fire in her eyes showed itself past the impassive mask.

"I want to be there."

And that was that. She'd be invaluable to help lead the raid on one of the higher ranking warehouses. We had three that were tentatively set to be the main one, where the administration met to do business. We knew when and we had possible where's but nothing too concrete. So I gathered a downright frighteningly large military force, and moved them in small groups. They left home the morning of it all in plainclothes, meeting in smaller areas near their assigned location to change and gear up. No one was tipped off with the movement of troops through the streets because there _was _no movement. I gave all teams earpieces and microphones, team leaders given the ones boosted through my sonic screwdriver to reach all other leaders. We would need to know who found the main house, and if backup was needed.

It was an enormous production and the payoff would be extraordinary if it succeeded according to plan. The money we would confiscate would go to military funding, the criminals would be booked, and all materials or contraband would be broken down alchemically and used to feed the market in a more...legal way. I had an Armstrong on each of the other two suspected main houses, with myself on the third. I wore my ¾ sleeves black under-armor as well as my gloves with the sound circles. The men under my command were staring at the scars but I tried not to let it bother me, I had a job to do, and if I wanted to be comfortable while I did it then I damn well would be. I was loading my backup weapon and checking the equipment at my belt when someone behind me cleared their throat. I turned, not bothering to snap to attention despite the officers were higher ranked than me. Here in the field, I was temporarily in charge, and they saluted accordingly. It was strange, to have Roy being the one showing respect. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

The officer to Roy's right cleared his throat again and I turned my impassive gaze to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?"

He shifted uncomfortably,

"We were told to report here. We're the last minute volunteers."

I passed an eye over them, three in their forties, one in their thirties, and then Roy. All were in uniform, one didn't even have his service weapon. I sighed, grabbing a handgun off a temporary rack set up to the side and handing it to him, pointing to the magazine box.

"Take an extra or too, can't be too careful with these guys. I have reports of them moving arms in and out of the city. Our spook lost sight of the last shipment so they could very well be packing some serious heat in there."

I ignored their frightened looks, focusing on the wall behind them so I wouldn't end up staring at my old friend.

"You five shall be a part of the raid on one of the three main locations. It is unclear which one houses the administration and the records but we're clearing them all at 1100 hours. There-"

"Excuse me?"

I let my eyes slide over and focus on the one who appeared to be in his thirties, raising an eyebrow when he continued.

"Why are we doing this all at once? Isn't it a waste of resources?"

I snorted, dismissing him, and looking away to check my equipment while I answered.

"If we cleared a single warehouse and then moved on to the next then we would set off a system. Once the first sign of danger is spotted the alarm is hit, and _all _warehouses evacuate. All product that can't be carried is destroyed, what can be carried is taken out of the city or moved to an unknown location. If we don't get this all at the same time then what we don't get will simply flow somewhere else and start again."

Another older one was looking down on me in contempt,

"We could still just hit the main buildings, cut the head off the snake as it were."

I holstered my gun, passing out earpieces, rolling my eyes. I pointed to the weapons loaded with sedatives and motioned them to take one.

"That would work if this were a country or government body. Maybe. But these guys have several tiers of command so if you 'cut the head off' as you so eloquently put it, then you would only end up with three different, slightly smaller 'heads' splitting the business into smaller and more difficult to find pieces. It's all or nothing."

I turned to the room and whistled, lightning crackling up my arms, highlighting the scars and making them glow with a pale inner light. The sound came out louder than normally possible, catching everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, mobilize in five. Don't forget, shoot to incapacitate unless they use force first. I'd like to have something substantial to throw in a jail cell."

And the bad thing is, in Amestris there were no laws dictating not to use lethal force against nonviolent bystanders, so these orders were actually needed.

I turned back to the five in front of me,

"Have you already been given an entry point through Scheska?"

The men nodded, and I raised an eyebrow,

"Then report to your given location."

Four of them snapped salutes and marched off, looking slightly peeved at the dismissal. Roy stood casually in front of me without moving and I squashed the awkwardness, forcing myself to look him in the eye.

"Where were you assigned?"

It was a subtle prod, 'why the hell are you still here?' but it was deftly ignored. He tilted his head towards where Sheska was sorting out an argument about something or another,

"I was told to report directly to you. Your subordinate was of the opinion that you would appreciate the help, you are in the most dangerous position after all."

I resisted the urge to scowl, I hadn't thought her to be a meddler. She was aware of the issues between the two of us, and this must be her way of forcing us to work it out. Hardly the most opportune time. I tilted my head in response, staring him down with a blank expression.

"And are you alright with that?"

His confused expression nearly set off a seizure of giggles but I refrained, iterating instead.

"Are you alright with being one of the idiots who has to march through the front door? Most would stay away from that dangerous, and slightly stupid, job."

His expression faded back to the blank soldier look that I hated to see on him,

"Most commanding officers wouldn't care what their subordinates thought."

I snorted, turning to head towards the door we would exit through.

"Yeah well, they're my subordinates but they're still human beings."

This was met with silence, but he followed me out anyway. I was more relaxed than I should have been while we were running checks on the earpieces. It was just habit to feel like everything was going to be okay whenever Mustang had my back.

It took five minutes to creep along the edges of the building, and for everyone to check in as ready. Brigadier General Armstrong was the one who called a start to the whole thing, and we went in on her mark, some groups blasting open doors, and others simply opening them and waltzing inside. Roy and I did neither. I picked the lock with the sonic, tucking it away into my left boot as I eased the door open. It was dark inside this particular warehouse and I didn't really expect much out of it. The quiet loop through the building showed nothing but crates. What we cracked open showed drugs and weapons, with emphasis on the weapons. I could hear the rest of our team wreaking havoc in the other wing of the warehouse and sighed as I looked around at all of the crates.

There were a few close calls, which was to be expected. Three were taken down with tranquilizers. Two of those three were done by Roy, who was a better shot than I had assumed. I mentally berated myself for that. He was a soldier, he had to fight with firearms long before he got that fancy alchemy upgrade.

One guy jumped out at us, taking Roy by surprise. I had my senses flared open, feeling the dragons pulse around us, and slapped him out of the air contemptuously. Roy's expression sent me into giggles that were completely inappropriate for the situation. Which is probably why he joined in, rolling his eyes once we got ourselves back together again. I had missed moments like this. Not that they usually happened in such an environment, but all the same.

I glanced back at Roy and sighed to see the levity gone, poker face back in place.

"Well, guess we got lucky. Next to no one in this quadrant."

I put my finger to my ear, pressing down to activate the microphone portion.

"Hows it going out there, guys?"

There was a sizzle of static before Olivier Armstrong's voice drifted through.

"We have no administration here. Only people to catalog the product."

Her brother's voice came through next, sounding subdued,

"Here as well. None of the 'big players' have been found."

I groaned, resisting the urge to kick a crate.

"They must have been away from the office, what a day to choose a raid."

There was a rustle to our left and Roy's gun was up just in time to train it on one of the three men that appeared out of a door previously hidden in shadow. Four more followed them from a different direction and I resisted the urge to pitch a fit. Why me? Oh, the higher ups are here all right, _right _here.

A familiar voice spoke from behind me, dripping with amusement.

"Put your hands up, Arcaro, Flame."

I glanced at Roy but his expression was still unreadable. The figure stepped into view just as my brain provided the helpful prompting of who it was. I resisted my urge to just throw the fucking gun at him.

"Hanes, you absolute cunt wagon!"

One of his thugs snickered but was silenced by a glare which he then turned on me. "Hello again, Arcaro. Imagine seeing you here. Just _had _to meddle, didn't you?"

I flipped him off, _so _not ready to listen to the classic scooby doo 'meddling kids' type rant I knew was coming, and Roy put his free hand on my wrist bringing it down at the same time as he lowered his gun, examining the guys in front of us. Hanes only rolled his eyes,

"You always were the rude one. You haven't won here. You haven't even come close. We're going to leave now. And we're going to shuffle things around. Have fun finding any of this again. Luck can only carry you so far, after all."

He stalked closer to me, hair falling in his face, tall frame looming over me. He yanked the straps of the utility belt until it came free, stepping back.

"I think I'll just take this. Wouldn't want you causing trouble."

He turned and started to walk away, trying to be dramatic. Well, I should rain on his parade.

I sighed, grinning slightly. "Does that mean we're engaged then?"

Everyone stopped and was looking at me like I had lost my fucking mind but I didn't care, this reference was soooo fucking worth it.

Hanes confusion nearly sent me into gales of laughter but I controlled myself so I wouldn't stumble on the punchline.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

I grinned widely, maniacally, holding up my middle finger with the grenade pin spinning around it.

"Oh, but you gave me a ring, didn't you?"

There was a moment of stunned silence while everyone stared at the utility belt he was holding. He dropped it, attempting to dive away and I grabbed Roy by the front of his shirt, pulling us behind the stack of crates, moving toward the door. The blast sent us hurtling toward the ground. There was a snapping of fingers and the flames ignored us, the heat blurring mostly past us. Some of it licked at our boots, taking an inch or so off the bottom of my hair. But we weren't crispy when the light faded and the smoke wafted from the sight of the explosion.

My ears weren't in the best of shape, but I could vaguely hear the sound of sirens and pounding boots. I was forcefully rolled over and greeted with the sight of an equally soot smudged Mustang, looking worried. I doubled over, coughing a lung up by the feel of it. Once done with that I looked up at him, grinning slightly.

"Thanks, that could have ended slightly worse than it did."

He looked like he wanted to yell about something but was stopped when the medics arrived, dragging the both of us away to get checked out. An investigations team was cataloging the scene for trial and taking people into custody. I watched them work as a grumbling paramedic slapped bandages on me and ordered me to the hospital for a more thorough examination. I made to argue but was interrupted by Mustang appearing from behind us.

"I'll drive her myself."

Oh, yeah that sounds ominous. He didn't wait for an answer and I followed sedately to his car, not looking forward to whatever this was about. Well, at least we got the bastards.


	43. Chapter 43

Hospitals smell. It's part of the reason no one likes them. Well, the stink of antiseptic ranks right up there on the 'ew' list as well as the injuries everywhere. And there _were _injuries everywhere. Everything from a head cold to a disease picked up in the swamps of the boondocks was treated at the Central Military Hospital.

Our burns were seen to quickly by a harried looking doctor who had glared at Roy for a while when he saw the burns on the back of my neck and the damage to my hair. I snickered at that, getting a subtle kick to the ankle from my superior. A cream was smeared over the burns and gauze was wrapped around my neck to keep it there. I was warned to leave it alone until it had to be reapplied in a few hours and then left to my own devices.

The room we were in was silent as the doctor swept out, off to terrorize his next patient. I snuck a glance at Roy sitting in the corner and winced at the scowl on his face. I went back to examining the grenade pin I still had with me, contemplating framing it or something. My thoughts were interrupted when Roy sighed.

"Why do you always do this?"

I raised an eyebrow, pulling both feet under me so I could sit on the bed fully.

"What, you mean make stupid decisions? I don't really know. I suppose it's the 'mind-to-action' filter, that one broke around the same time as 'mind-to-mouth' but I must admit this is one of the times with the more severe consequences."

One other occasion came to mind, really, with a rift in dimensions and a choice. In this case, my orders had been to eliminate the drug trade, however possible. So in the end I did. There would be burning corpses in my nightmares now. That smell would never leave me. But orders are orders. Dog of the military, must bark and bite on command.

There was a scoff that stole my attention away from my knees and to the glaring colonel in the corner of the room, arms crossed and practically exuding sass.

"I meant why do you always go seeking trouble."

I shrugged, putting a hand under my chin and resting my elbow on my knee, watching his glare intensify, smirking at the chance to whip out a Harry Potter quote.

"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me."

There was probably at least one Artemis Fowl joke in there somewhere as well, but it's difficult to get away with referencing fairies in everyday conversation without being diagnosed with something.

Roy sagged in his chair, pulling one hand down his face and groaning in exasperation.

"And there lies the problem. You see, we were trying to keep you safe. And what do you do? You go off chasing drug lords, or murders, having tea time with serial killers-"

I threw a pillow at him that didn't even make it half the distance before flopping to the floor.

"Eh, that was one time, you can't whip that out in an argument."

"Watch me."

We glared at each other for a few seconds before Roy sighed, standing up and ruffling a hand through his hair, looking out the window at the nurses running around. I belated realized he hadn't even attempted to flirt with a single one of them. When he turned back to me he looked tired and felt guilt clog my throat.

"Stephanie, this...country- it isn't your problem. You don't have to 'fix it', you aren't responsible for any of us."

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm aware of that. But you guys are my friends, that _makes _it my problem. I'm not going to sit back and watch innocent people get hurt, it's not in my nature."

_Or it wasn't. I'm not really sure who I am now._

_Am I an alchemist?_

_A soldier?_

_A year or two ago I would have said 'American' with conviction, but after all I've sacrificed for Amestris do I not have a claim to it, too?_

_Roy_ r_o_lled his eyes, walking towards the door and pausing just long enough to ruffle my hair.

"Just...be careful. You're like everyone's little sister around here and we kind of want to keep you intact."

Ouch. Family-zoned. He was out the door before he could see me wince and I just sat on the bed for a few minutes, telling myself I saw it coming anyway.

When Jean greeted me at the apartment door with fast food to celebrate I managed to smile and nod along to whatever he was saying. An hour later a heavy hand rested on my shoulder, and I looked up into Jean's concerned face.

"Are you alright Stephanie? Because you're obviously not paying attention to anything. You've agreed to loan me a kidney and adopt 7 orphan children. I also claimed that the grass was pink and dogs have 14 ears."

I sat back in my chair, rubbing my eyes,

"Well, there were once slopes of deep red grass...but that's another story isn't it?"

I sat up straight, glancing at the time and motioned towards my room.

"I'm just a little tired after everything today. I'll be alright."

Oh, I'm tired with a side of crushed with a sprinkle of identity crisis thrown in there as well, but no biggie.

He looked unconvinced so I rolled my eyes, pointing to the bandages around my neck.

"The sooner I sleep, the sooner I wake up. The sooner I wake up, the sooner I take off these bandages and stop looking like a victim of a vampire attack."

I ignored his protests, pressing the door shut behind me, activating the silencing arrays on the door. Wouldn't do for the new nightmare material I gained to wake Jean as well.


	44. Chapter 44

Arranging vacation time after the takedown of Hanes was easier than I had assumed. I had figured after my gigantic stint of medical leave I would have no room left to ask for freedom, but, apparently, I had 'earned it'.

Sneaking out of Central in the dead of night was also easier than I had assumed it would be, but I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, I figured out how to cloak myself completely in shadow, and deleting my sound imprint from the world was child's play for me. It felt a little bit like cheating to use my clearance level to check patrols so I could avoid everyone and everything. Jean was all for pretending to shop for an alchemist playing hermit, and no one would think that out of the ordinary for me.

Riza was waiting outside the city limits with the military issue car that she was allowed to use for the 'errands' she was doing out of Central for Brigadier General Armstrong. My bag was shoved into the back and I had buckled in before I realized Riza was staring at me with a strange look on her face. I stared right back for a few seconds before it hit me that I had never dropped the transmutations. The shadows fell away and I rattled off the code phrase we had set up earlier that week.

I was met with a halfhearted glare and a return phrase before she shoved the car into gear. It had taken a ridiculous amount of planning to get this all hashed out. Riza had actually approached me about taking time out of the city to prepare some things for the Promised Day. I took the idea and ran with it. The only ones who knew we were out of town together were Jean and Olivier, who were our cover stories. Even Roy had no idea we were leaving, and Riza didn't know exactly where we were headed. I was the navigator, map spread out over my legs, more for Riza's benefit than mine. While she knew intellectually that I would remember it with perfect clarity it would still be unnerving if I were to forgo the reference.

She didn't ask where we were headed, and if she realized I drove us in circles and perhaps one or two pentagram patterns she didn't comment. We drove for several hours at terrifying speeds. It was a few hours before nightfall when we finally got to our destination. Trees and green hills surrounded us on all sides and the closest town was tiny, cows spread liberally on the side of the road. The house was simple, and far removed from everything around it. Two cars, old but in good condition, were parked at the front. Bits of machinery littered the front yard and I wondered if Winry hadn't been here at some point.

I was wary of Riza's reaction to the particular revelation to come, but when she was throwing the car in park Edward was running towards us with a maniacal grin spread across his face. I jumped out of the vehicle (literal jump, I'm too damn short for this) and was swept into a bear hug. When I was finally allowed to breathe Edward was grinning down at me smugly.

"Is it just me or do you seem shorter than I remember?"

I reached up and smacked him gently on the shoulder, smirking. I jerked my head towards Riza,

"I brought company. You think you could bring out our little...surprise, in a way that won't alarm her?"

Gold eyes were glimmering with excitement as he opened his mouth to speak, but the door to the house behind him slammed open before he had the chance. Maes pranced out, wearing jeans and an oil stained white t-shirt, all grins and sparkles.

"Riza! How kind of you to finally visit me!"

The gun was out and trained on him before we could properly react. I sighed in resignation, giving in to the urge to facepalm. I took a deep breath in and straightened up, hovering a hand over her shoulder but not quite touching her. Her expression was blank, the look in her eyes dark. That was scarier than if she had shown actual fury.

"Riza, I may have left some things out of my report of that night."

Her eyes didn't move from a thoroughly disappointed looking Maes but her expression clearly said to explain, and to do it quickly.

I threw my hands up, taking a step back.

"He was marked by the Fuhrer, he found out too much too soon. The 'bad guys' needed him dead, and we needed everyone to react appropriately for it to be believable. I'll apologize for stringing you on for this long, but I refuse to apologize for the lie in this case. It was more than necessary."

I pointed at Maes,

"Ask him questions, questions the real Maes would only have the answer to. Verify his identity, then you can join us inside for tea and espionage. I mean-spongecake. Yeah..."

I grabbed Edwards' elbow, dragging him in the house with me, ignoring the little voice in my head that said leaving her like that was a bit mean, but I honestly was tired of not being trusted. I was tired of a lot of things, actually. Edward started tea while I cleared off the kitchen table in order to splay my notes across it. Edward and I were fangirling over my latest alchemical discoveries when Riza and Maes entered, with Riza looking far more relaxed than she had before. She settled into the chair on the other side of me, Maes ruffling my hair as he walked past to take the seat beside her.

Riza's eyes were shining but her voice didn't waver one bit in conviction.

"We need to tell Roy."

I shook my head resolutely, staring her down the best I could.

She glared, leaning forwards slightly.

"I don't think you understand, Arcaro, this is downright cruel. You have no idea how torn up he was over this, what it nearly drove him to."

I raised an eyebrow,

"I know very well what went on right in front of me, why do you think the cases suddenly came our way with such frequency, why he suddenly had the more interesting things to work with and why all the more soul-sucking paperwork disappeared only to reappear completed where it was supposed to be? When your Amestrian taboos crossed his mind and he started sketching out theory for it on the napkins on his desk an emergency suddenly appeared that he had to turn his attention to. I'll admit half of it was slightly more dangerous than I had expected. Like being dressed as a doll and held by a serial killer. Not my finest moment, I will admit. I drove Roy to distraction with my antics, and that was the _point_. I didn't give him the time to properly mourn. I'm in this deception for the long haul and I have to keep an eye on the board for six, seven moves in the future, all the thousands of possibilities have to be accounted for. He needed to believe it, still does. Because _that _is his driving force. He believes he has been personally wronged, hurt by this. And that lends him conviction. Because of this conviction he's gaining allies. Olivier Armstrong is one of these allies. More are to follow."

The fire in Riza's eyes didn't dim, and she grimaced slightly.

"Are these methods worth it? Are they even necessary? Who gave you the right to make these decisions? What good is there in this cruelty?"

I sat back, face blank, crossing my arms and flexing my fingers absentmindedly, the ghost of remembered pain sparking for a brief second.

"But that's the thing, Lieutenant. I'm not a _good _person. But I do have everyone's best interests at heart. The 'greater good', I suppose." I grimaced at the wording but continued anyway.

"I...I don't like this any more than you do. Personally, I wouldn't have minded returning Maes to his family moments after he cheated death. There were several scenarios, some involving sending the entire family into hiding in Xing, but Maes isn't the type to sit back and let others fight when he's capable. In the end, this is up to him anyway."

She sat back in surprise at the last bit,

"His choice?"

I rolled my eyes,

"Of course he has a choice, like I could fucking stop him. If he felt the need to go home right at this moment I would wish him luck before frantically rearranging all of my plans and wait for the dominos to start falling, and that would be that. I only offer advice. Frankly, I have no real desire to mastermind any of this."

She pursed her lips, eyes flicking to a blank-faced Hughes before going back to me.

"Do you even care about him? Or is it all about your precious plans?"

I felt my face contort into an involuntary snarl for a second before taking a deep breath and looking her in the eye. I suddenly understood Dumbledore, with all his strings and puppets.

"Of course I care. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten into this. Maybe it would have been better for all of us if I had just kept my nose out of things. If I had done my job and gone home like a good little girl, if I hadn't gotten attached. But I did. And I fucking care. So I got involved. I could have turned the other cheek, done my time, and then looked for a way home. But I threw myself into all this, I...lost myself in this."

Riza looked like she was about to interject but I cut her off with a wave of my hand, slumping into my chair.

"Riza, I don't know who I am anymore. I changed somewhere along in all of this and I'm pretty sure it isn't for the better. I lose a bit more of myself as I go along, but I don't regret it. Because you guys, all of you, are worth it. You're worth caring about, worth losing myself over. Don't question whether or not I care, if I didn't care then I wouldn't have made it this far."

There were glances at my arms and hands, stark black cloth covering the scars they were no doubt thinking of. I motioned towards the phone.

"Tell him if you want. Phone him, or drive away, or write a letter. I don't care. But perhaps you should ask Maes first, or consider it yourself. The logistics of it. No phone Roy would answer would be safe, no meeting would be unsuspicious, no letter would be left unread and no code is completely safe. So do what you will. Maybe you'll make better decisions than I did. Hell, it wouldn't be hard."

I picked up a notebook, handing it to Edward.

"That's all I have to say on that, do with it what you will. But we have other things to talk about."

* * *

I didn't speak with Riza for a few days. Edward and I often saw her speaking in lowered voices with Maes in some deserted corner. The two of us worked steadily through alchemy notes and I bounced several theories off of Edward and he relished being able to talk shop with someone for the first time since he and Al parted ways. The chimeras would sit around us looking lost for a while before giving up and starting a card game of some sort.

When Riza finally approached me she put a gentle hand on my shoulder and stopped me in the hallway.

"I don't like it….but I see now it was the best choice you could have made. I...should not have spoken as I did. Once again I find myself…"

"Tasting foot?" I suggested with a grin.

She slapped me lightly on the back of the head, hiding a small smile.

"Something like that."

After lunch that day she returned from a short drive with one of the chimeras and promptly dragged Edward and me away from our research and to the field adjacent to the house.

She tossed down one of the many bags she had brought, pulling out a handgun, loading it in one swift movement. Edward and I shared a look, wondering if we should start running yet. She interrupted our thoughts by speaking.

"We are at war."

The both of us winced but she ignored it and continued on.

"Or very near it at the very least. I will not be sending either of you out unprepared."

Edward opened his mouth to argue, most likely along the lines of the both of us possessing kick ass alchemy when Riza's glare stopped him cold.

"Did Father not prevent you from using alchemy before?"

His grimace was answer enough and Riza continued.

"I expect something like that will happen again. You will need to be prepared for it. Stephanie has already been trained in this, but there is always room for improvement."

My ego took a small hit at that, but only a small one. I knew I was nowhere near this chicks' level, and if she was handing out tips then hallelujah, I'd take anything I could get at this point. Apparently, the whole point of this outing had been training for war, and getting Edward out of the package had been a bonus for her. We were together in our hatred of the training regime she had prepared, united through terror and pain. It was much better having a teacher split between two people of higher level intelligence (if I do say so myself) rather than one teacher to thirty people of varying levels.

Edward hated guns, hated what they did, what they stood for. Riza and I understood, really, we knew what they could do, but I explained time and again that it was more a tool and the actions were up to the wielder. In the end, it was a hypothetical scenario involving an endangered Alphonse, inactive alchemy, a gun, and an enemy 10 meters away that convinced Edward to put forth real effort.

We ran in the mornings, where I would overall kick ass. Speed was my thing, it's what I trained in, what I focused most on, especially after my injuries and recovery. It helped that I was the smallest that wasn't weighed down with metal limbs. After the run we moved on to other exercises, weapons proficiency included. Riza had a scary variety of weapons, and even scarier skill with them. The improvement was visible in all of us, even Maes and the chimera. Edward especially improved, he went from _maybe _being able to hit a 10-foot wide stationary target to getting 9/10 of the clay disks we would throw.

My targets got smaller and smaller, and the guns we used changed regularly so we wouldn't get too used to just one type. Transition became easier, and pinpoint accuracy became better. Riza spent a ridiculous amount of time having me run and shoot at the same time. I wasn't sure when I would ever need to run through a crowd and only hit certain targets, which also might be running, or were trying to shoot at me. I wondered if she didn't have some sort of foreknowledge as well, her 'theoretical scenarios' were incredibly detailed. Then again, perhaps she was working from strange and unlikely things that had happened to _her_ before.

The evenings contained sparring. It came to drawing straws and I dominated against the chimera's, no matter how much they had improved. They were too large, and though they were quick I was quicker. I had the most trouble against Edward, which was unexpected. I had assumed it would be either Maes or Riza who gave me the most grief. Apparently fighting someone my size tripped me up. Badly. And Edward was no slouch. He became the teacher, and Riza the student when this stuff came along.

Maes held little classes on throwing knives, and the chimera were the best for when it came time to wind down. Kicking their ass at cards was much more difficult than kicking Jean's ass. I actually lost a bit of money to them. I made an accidental reference during one game and ended up reciting James Bond: Casino Royale as an Odyssey style epic. It was a hit, there were tears at the end of the story that the chimera denied venomously. I held little lessons on Drachman, mandatory for all, just little phrases that would be important in emergencies. Such as bathroom, stop, silent, help, I'm bleeding out, etc. Edward, the genius, had no excuse to get away from extensive lessons. Something about the Truth had tickled his brain just right that languages were easier for him to pick up.

It was fun, living like that. No job, no real expectations for me other than I try my best, no one was asking for any big favors, except maybe bring that case of bullets from the other room or pass the salt. There were quiet moments when I regretted leaving my iPod behind. It wasn't the same hearing a song just in memory, even as 'perfect' as it was. I couldn't share it like that, anyway. Oh, sure, I could relate the story of Peter Pan, or the Hobbit, but it wasn't the same. I stayed staunchly away from things like Twilight and Frankenstein. Anything involving the dead walking again was avoided.

Edward still hadn't mentioned the taboo he and Alphonse committed, but that could be my fault. The second week in I had told all about my Mind Palace, getting it off my chest. Edward was peeved that I had kept it from him, which may have resulted in him feeling slighted and holding back on his own secret. Then again, he had gotten over it the very next day and was all over the science I had read about. I was sure the butterfly effect of giving Edward Elric access to modern day quantum physics would explode the universe, but everything was still mostly intact when we finished messing around with the fabric of reality.

Teaching him about pocket dimensions was fun, and having someone of his intellectual caliber to talk theory with was priceless. As was the expression of anyone watching when we dropped a 2x4 foot piece of plywood into a small 6x8 inch paper envelope. The energy price could be taken from heat and light, and I badly wanted to share the little trick with the battery passing for a philosophers stone, but I really didn't know how to without 'knowing' what it was Edward and Alphonse were after. Three months into my four-month vacation (I had a shit ton saved up, despite my medical leave, this place had weird policies) Jean called us back to Central.

"Roy called looking for you, I had to say you were working with something volatile to get him to give up. There's something going down at HQ, and I think he's a bit lost without you girls to keep him in line."

I glanced over at where everyone else was laughing around the dinner table, Riza slapping down a killer hand and raking in cash with only a slight smile on her face while everyone deflated with anime dramatics. I felt a twinge of pain at the thought of leaving this behind. I didn't want to leave. There was no responsibility, there was no conflict. True, there was the underlying tension because we were training, preparing to fight. But there was still a certain peace to it. Of course, all good things must come to an end. I would get this back one day, though. There would be peace, and card games, and laughs, and no one would be sad or stressed anymore.

A slightly childish dream, but I'm in a position to make it happen. Or die trying.

So I agreed, despite how badly I wanted to hang up and pretend the call never came through, or that the line failed.

"Alright, Jean. Just hang in there for a little while longer. If he goes through with his threat and actually shows up then hand him a beer and tell him I went to Junes' to work on something I wouldn't tell you about. I'll see you soon."

I hung up the phone, turning to see that no one was paying attention to the conversation I just had. I didn't want to ruin the moment, didn't want to this to end. It was like home again, with Liz and Taylor gambling over whose turn it was to do dishes. Edward looked panicked when we told him we had to leave in the morning, and I just knew that he wanted to tell me about the secret he and Al had. He wasn't able to bring himself to, by the time we left the next morning. I gave him a hug and bid him goodbye with a grin, knowing that it just meant he cared about my opinion so much my reaction worried him.

I gave everyone a hug before we left, giving Edward a small journal of notes I had translated so he could read it, coded simply. I handed him the key to the code with a small smile.

"I figured you'd want something to do to keep from strangling these guys."

There was quite a bit of stuff from home in there, but I wasn't worried about giving it to Edward of all people. His morals were unshakable, it was slightly ridiculous. I wasn't worried about accidentally giving him the key to the atom bomb or poison gas, or anything of the sort. He'd probably destroy the knowledge, never letting on he knew anything about it.

I snuck back into the city, with Riza leaving and going about a few errands for a few more days. It would be a bit suspicious if we both turned back up in public at the same time. It was slightly more difficult getting in during broad daylight, but a chameleon style disguise derived from an Artemis Fowl novel did the trick. I went in through a window easily enough and had barely ditched my coat and boots when Roy was banging on the door to the apartment.

I grabbed notes and wandered calmly into the living room, throwing the papers haphazardly onto the kitchen table and sat down to pretend to be absorbed in what I was looking at. Jean jumped when he saw me, but since the alchemy around the apartment hadn't torn me apart I couldn't be a homunculus. He answered the door but didn't get a word in before Roy was storming towards me. I considered ignoring him but I could practically taste the agitation in the air so I put the random pieces of machinery down and turned to face him. I didn't get to say anything before he spoke.

"We have an actual date for the promised day."

Jean froze from where he'd been rearranging the couch cushions, and I sighed, slumping down a bit. Well then, my vacation was well and truly over.


	45. Chapter 45

Preparation got frantic, we started stocking ammo like we were preparing for a zombie apocalypse, which is possible, actually. I spent many sleepless nights comparing homunculi to zombies, and wondering if they would ever branch out to eating brains. Save Gluttony, he probably already ate brain since he ate everything else.

We gathered followers, we gained loyalty. I was surprised to learn that I actually had something like a following within investigations. They knew I was right most of the time, and if I was unsure then I kept silent. I could count on them to take up arms and follow me if it came to that, or at the very least I knew they wouldn't shoot me. They'd at least wait and see how it turned out before stepping in.

June and Sheska were brought into the fold easily, and I had them spend time at the range, learning how to wield a weapon, though they would be wielding radios most of the time. With Sheska's memory and June's OCD they were perfect to keep us organized. What we couldn't get through sneaky trade we made through alchemy. Turns out Roy's not half bad at general practice alchemy. Jean guiltily admitted that Roy was the one he went to when I needed my meds and couldn't use alchemy to make them myself. He was the only alchemist available in Edward's absence, all others were either not in a position to help or weren't trustworthy.

We were getting close to the end of the anime, the manga loyal version of it, and I wasn't entirely sure what to do with myself afterward. I knew that before I had thought I would want to stick around, but I seriously had no place in these people's lives. I suppose once I got out of the military, if I still wanted to leave by then, then I would become a hermit and immerse myself into researching a way home. I missed the most ridiculous things. Proper television shows, books, and music being at the top of my list. And pizza. Proper pizza.

Work continued as usual, but there was an undertone of urgency to everything. The Promised Day was approaching rapidly, and I was scared out of my mind. I had no place here, I had little to no idea what was coming my way, and I still hadn't managed to track down Alphonse. It was the height of frustrating. I don't know why it was so difficult to track down reports of anyone seeing a giant suit of armor, it's not like he was inconspicuous. Taylor's words to me about the series were examined with a fine toothed comb, and everything I knew about the 2003 version as well. I was nearly out of foreknowledge and it was pissing me off. I had been relying on it all too much, and now it was causing something like withdrawal.

I was forced to leave Central several times for State Alchemists business, usually inspections and the like. I used the outings as a chance to gauge the condition of the rest of the country. Conditions could be better. A lot better. There was room for improvement. I had a notebook filled with ideas on how to improve the quality of life for the people of Amestris, ideas taken from the countries I had read about in another dimension, methods taken from history lessons. The coding on it was something I had already shared with several people, so if I died in the upcoming violence then they would still have the tips. I wasn't sure they would bother with them but at least they would have the option.

I had a bad feeling about all of this that I couldn't shake. I was twitchier than usual, but most people attributed that to having to take the train again. That was part of it. I was suspicious of all orders that took me out of Central, and I took trusted backup whenever possible, and I _always _arranged to meet someone at the other end just in case there was a repeat of my first assignment. It was a convenient scapegoat, but not the main problem. The past had ceased to bother my sleep, now it was just the future worrying me. I was faced with images of Edward Elric standing at the gate and being torn into pieces. I wasn't ready for him and his brother to have to face the Truth again. And I was positive they would have to.

I had fallen out of contact with Edward weeks ago. He had started running around the country helping with the gathering of forces for the Promised Day. I'm almost certain this is where he would pick up Greed again. Taylor had mentioned that Edward worked with Greed shortly before promised day and that's how he enlisted his help, but I wasn't sure about that anymore, I had been told Greed was dead. If the butterfly effect of my presence kept us from having a homunculus ally then that could shift the odds out of our favor. Very not good.


	46. Chapter 46

Throwing a lamp is never the best response to stress. That said, I am now down one very nice lamp. Jean swept it up and deposited the pieces in a box so that I could put it back together later when I wasn't in such a destructive mood. He eyed me warily, checking to make sure I could reach nothing but pillows before he approached.

"Still can't find the Elrics?"

I hissed, throwing a pillow at him which he caught, looking very unimpressed.

"They'll show up on time, they know how important this is, they'll refuse to be left out."

I sulked for several more minutes before he waved a bar of chocolate in front of my face. I snatched it away with a scowl, nodding in thanks after I had taken a bite. I was left giggling for a few minutes at the similarity to a snickers commercial while Jean sat at the kitchen table, ignoring my insanity.

We had days left until D-day, or P-day as it were, but that doesn't sound nearly as impressive. The boys were MIA, and Maes had gone under the radar a while ago as well. I was at the end of my rope trying to help organize a military coup, and now most everyone I cared about was missing. I had passed a homunculus on the street a few days ago and it had stretched my nerves even further knowing they were all gathering in Central. It was infuriating, all my enemies in one place and I had to wait. I had tried to appeal to Roy and Olivier about attacking before the Promised Day, in order to not cut it so close, but they were adamant about the timeline for some reason, still hopeful for stopping it beforehand through their means. They were of the opinion that it would be best to wait for Father's entire hand to be shown before they truly acted.

Jean sifted through the trade forms of the illegal smuggling ring I had started, taking notes on what we had in stock. He stopped at a certain page, not looking at me as he asked,

"Hey, Steph, why do we need this much 'salt peter'?"

I raised an eyebrow at his back, snorting.

"Gunpowder, Jean. I'm going to be whipping up homemade gunpowder, and we're gonna make bullets."

He turned over a few more forms before he spoke again.

"Was it really necessary to start up a smuggling ring?"

I threw a pillow at him, it fell short by a few feet, thumping pathetically to the floor.

"Yes."

"Why? Does it satisfy your strange kink for anything illegal?"

I threw another pillow at him, this one connected with the back of his head.

"Excuse you, it is not a kink."

"...you like catching criminals, and get just as excited playing criminal yourself."

"...it's a hobby."

Roy had finally done it. Mentioned offhand that we would need some major funding if we were going to do anything impressive. And while we could have feasibly mooched off the goodwill of the Armstrong family I took it into my hands to make our rebellion filthy fucking rich. Dodging taxes (which are ridiculously high in Amestris because our government sucks ass) is practically a sport. When you have centuries of knowledge on the theory of running criminal empires, you can get pretty damn good at it. Nothing addictive, nothing that would ruin lives. The people of Central got goods and medicine out of the business, too, so it was a win-win scenario.

Jean made a pretty good secretary, using his job at the bookstore as a nice cover. Someone would go in to buy a cookbook or something and slip him info or various other things in the cash they used to pay. It was stupidly easy to get away with, but I was always careful. As a foreigner being 'corrupt' would hit me harder than others. But I had a damn good military track record that kept suspicion off of me most of the time.

I had expected an explosion when Roy found out but all I received was a sigh and an introduction to one 'Madame Christmas'. She gave me contacts to help expand, and I let her in on everything. It was mostly self-sufficient, with Jean and the Madame doing most of it while I was working for the military, but I was the brains of the operation. I was just glad I didn't have to go to the red light district anymore. It was difficult enough when I was undercover. Now that I was actually involved in some of the businesses it would have been just plain awkward.

I finally gave up on my Elric Hunting for the day, turning instead to the star charts that I had sketched out. I had transparent paper that I lay over it, the one on the bottom being the stars of this world, and on top being the stars of mine. They were reversed. Things were opposite, backwards, it was odd, creating a strange ripple effect when overlayed like this. I balled up the transparent one, tossing it into the trash bin located beside Havoc's chair. The bin was filled mostly with the ashes of whatever Jean had deemed too incriminating to remain lying around. His lighter lay on the table, beside the package of cigarettes I refused to let him smoke in my apartment. I'd already read him the riot act on lung cancer, which met deaf ears.

I scowled at the box for a second before turning back to the star chart.

"I'm still pissed 'Father' had to do this shit on the solar eclipse. I had plans for that."

Jean sighed, lighting a paper on fire as he glanced back at me, unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Did you consider that his creepy alchemy shit is related to the solar eclipse?"

I stuck my tongue out at him before going back to my charts.

"Yes, I did think of that. Very voodoo. I have no idea what he's doing with the eclipse just yet, but bad guys tend to rant right on the cusp of victory, which is when I bullshit a plan together based on that information."

He stopped. Then he slowly put down what he was working on and turned to face me, expression slightly concerned.

"You mean you make this up as you go along?"

I shrugged,

"Captain Jack Sparrow managed okay like that. Why can't I?"

Before he could respond the phone rang and I jumped over the shit I had spread out over the couch cushions, yanking the phone out of its cradle.

"This had better be you, bitch."

There was a snort from the other end of the line and Edwards' voice came through.

"Yeah, it's me. It's probably not a good thing that I respond to that so easily. Colonel Bastard would have a field day with this."

"Don't worry about what Roy would think about how whipped you are, where the hell did you disappear to? I couldn't find you, or Al. I even used the network, Edward. How the hell did you give these guys the slip?"

There was a mumble, "...'m not whipped."

Then there was an intake of breath.

"I'm at Resembool."

"Resembool?"

"Oh, I...never mentioned that, did I? Al and I are from Resembool, it's a small town. I just met up with my mechanic, we grew up together here."

"Mechanic?"

"...Winry Rockbell. I...never mentioned much about my personal life, did I?"

He sounded so fucking guilty that I felt some major guilt myself. I knew this information, of course, I had just never officially 'learned it' or been informed of it.

"In your defense, I don't talk about my country much, either."

"But you did, you told legends, and shared the science, you told us all about your brother and mentioned your aunt several times."

There was a moment of silence and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say, but he continued speaking.

"That's settled then. After all of this is over I'll have to bring you to Resembool! You can meet Granny and argue over who's shorter, and meet Winry and talk shop. Just...keep that screwdriver of yours away from her. She's likely to blow up the universe tinkering with it."

I snorted,

"So be it, then. You and Al can give me a tour of your hometown when this is all wrapped up. I suppose...I have a few things from home stashed away. I could always show them off. Simple things, money, writing utensils. Not exactly a fair trade…"

"It's fine, not like we have much to show other than fields and an auto shop."

There was a second of silence before I sighed,

"I haven't found Alphonse. I don't….I'm worried about him."

"He'll turn up on time, have faith, Steph."

Edward didn't sound very convinced either, but I let it go. He was more worried than I was, guaranteed. The Elric brothers had the same (most likely unhealthy) level of dependency as the Winchester brothers. I cast that thought out quickly, the similarities were frightening once you started thinking about it.

* * *

I was wrapped in shadow, covered in circles drawn in permanent marker that were hidden under my clothing. I was wearing my long tan coat, for luck. The military uniform was abandoned, replaced with black pants of a clinging kevlar-like material, my combat boots, and long sleeved black under armor. My hair was longer than when I had arrived here, pulled up into a high ponytail that reached to the nape of my neck. My pockets were 'alchemized' into being bigger on the inside, containing all sorts of ammunition and various other odds and ends that might be useful, such as bandages.

My sonic screwdriver was tucked close to my heart and I slipped through the trees outside of Central, searching through the Dragons Pulse for my destination. Edwards energy was familiar, after spending so long with him a few weeks ago it was easy to find him once he came into my range. His energy was all over the place. He was either showing off a gymnastics routine or had run into trouble.

I took off at a run, mentally cursing him for putting off the rendezvous for the dawn of D-day. A man I recognized mostly from mugshots and one particularly terrible encounter was running around wrecking shit. Zolf J. Kimblee. I entered the scene without much flair, simply dropping the shadow cloak and sailing in to kick him in the stomach. He rolled over and hopped back up, looking pissed, and Edward was looking at me in surprise. In a smooth movement, I pointed my handgun at Kimble, jerking my head towards the sound of another conflict.

"How bout you take care of that, Edward. I think I've got this."

He looked me in the eye and grinned.

"Well well well, what have we here. Looks like the rumors are true. You came out of your vacation in one piece. Well, sort of."

Edward glanced back and forth between us, looking to me for an explanation.

I didn't look away from Kimble.

"This is the man who I told you about. The one mostly responsible for my...vacation to Anabor."

The anime gasp was slightly unexpected, but the glare wasn't.

"Steph-"

"Let me handle this, Edward. Please."

He hesitated before turning to leave.

Kimble snickered,

"What, Edward, not man enough to help our your girlfriend."

Edward snarled at him but I stepped between the two.

"Now isn't the time. Alphonse is with the other group, as well as a whole bunch of life signs I don't recognize. Leave this guy to me."

As the sound of Edward's footsteps faded I turned my full attention to the man in front of me.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this."

He rolled his eyes,

"Just go to hell."

I smiled, void of humor, letting it stretch just so in a way I knew unnerved most people.

"Oh, but I've been to hell Kimble. I've seen it. Did you know…"

I circled around him a bit, whipping out everything I knew about psychology. When I was done with this guy he was going to be broken.

"...did you know, Kimble, that there is a _special _place in hell for people like me?"

He was wary now, watching me walk, turning so that he was facing me always, keeping his hands at the ready, alchemic tattoos showing.

"Oh, really?"

The grin turned manic and I lowered my gun, touching a single finger to a circle on my wrist.

"Yes. It's called the throne."

The transmutation activated and sound dulled, the fighting to our left faded out, and light receded, blurring around the edges of the clearing we were in.

"You're in my domain, now. Welcome to hell, Kimblee."


	47. Chapter 47

Pain is recognized in the sparks between firing neurons within the brain. In order to create pain without exerting the actual effort of hurting someone physically all one needs to do is manipulate the electricity there. It is both easier, and more difficult, than it sounds.

Having never gotten the chance to actually test this theory it took a few minutes to get it right. Kimblee didn't stand a chance. His own body turned against him. I had never meant to use this on an actual person. It was researched as a method to dull pain during automail surgery since anesthetics were out of the question. By the time I caught myself, really _realized_ what I was doing, it was too late. He was a trembling lump on the ground, twitching occasionally, with a whimper thrown in every now and then. I fell to my knees beside him, unsure what to do now. I had crossed a line.

He may have done terrible things during the war, caused terrible pain for me, posed a threat in a fight, but does that mean he needs _this_? How could I ever dare to think that I deserve to be judge, jury, or….Isn't this the reason that I left my home? To intervene when things got cruel? To be a good person? I guess the road to hell is truly paved with good intentions.

I heard a disturbance outside the clearing, felt it even through all the alchemy I was doing to separate us from the world. I dropped the transmutations, getting to my feet. I took one last look at Kimblee before taking off at a staggering run for where I could feel Edward dodging around, I may have lost my lunch in the bushes on my way. When I was getting close all was still, and by the time they came into view they had exploded into motion.

I was snatched onto an automobile being driven by a spidery man with a mustache, the chimera clutching me screaming like a girl every time we nearly hit a tree. Edward was with us, I could feel his presence, but couldn't summon the breath to ask what was going on. By the time we slowed down enough to hear ourselves think Edward was explaining, a scowl on his face.

"My father was there. He promised he'd help Al."

I looked at towards his voice in alarm,

"Help Al, what's wrong with Alphonse?"

"He was captured by the shadow Homunculus."

"WHAT!?"

"Chill, if the old man said that he'd get him out then he'll get him out."

"...alright then."

I sat back and saw Edward drag himself out from under the lump of human which turned out to be Ling, hanging around like a limp noodle.

"How did things go with Kimblee?"

Guilt hit me like a load of bricks and I had to look away.

"...Oh, I just used science to make the Cruciatus curse an actual thing. Where are we headed now?"

Edward looked like he wanted to demand details, eyeing me with those impossible golden eyes. I always did love that color. I had to look away, unsure if I would spill my guts to him just because of that expression. He had the 'disappointed older sibling' look down to a science. Which is completely unfair because I'm the older one here.

I heard him sigh and relaxed slightly.

"Alright then. Hey, Greed. Look alive, we're almost there."

I was busy looking for the homunculus tailing us when Ling stirred, growling.

"Is that any way to treat your boss?"

I turned to Ling slowly, raising an eyebrow and sending a probe through the dragons pulse. Yeah, there was homunculus there, but human as well. It was similar to the feeling I got from Bradley, more 'tainted human' than 'creature created by science'.

He grinned at me lecherously, the expression strange on Ling's face.

"Hey there."

I sunk backward slightly,

"Edwaaaard?"

The blonde whacked Ling on the shoulder, not looking away from the horizon.

"Stop that. This is Greed, he was shoved in Lings' body and now I work for him."

I scowled at him, knowing he would most likely feel it.

"I unleash you on the world for what, three weeks? Three weeks and you come back working for a homunculus."

Edward flipped me off behind his back and I felt a twinge of pride at having gotten him bold enough to use that casually before the annoyance was back.

"I was running around unsupervised long before you came around, Steph."

I snorted,

"Unsupervised, please, you had Al keeping you in line at least."

There was silence and I knew I had won that round. I looked around us, cross referencing with the maps of Central and the surrounding areas that I had seen.

"Um, Mr. Driver, sir? If you hang a left up here we'll only run into Morrison's patrol."

The man turned and I resisted the urge to shiver at the oily smile he adopted.

"And why would we want to do that?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, forcibly turning his head to look at the road while he drove.

"We want to do that because Morrison is an ally and more likely to toss us a ham sandwich as we sail by rather than to stop us."

He tilted his head slightly in my grip.

"Hmmmm, I do like a good ham sandwich."

I anime sweatdropped, turning slightly to face Edward.

"He does know I don't mean actual ham sandwiches, doesn't he?"

Edward shrugged, rolling his eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Yoki's a bit...different."

I turned back to face the road, directing the driver through holes in security as fast as possible. By the time we made it to our destination sides had been chosen and there were several small conflicts throughout the city. It was a grim sight, men in uniform hesitating to shoot someone they had considered a brother in arms just the day before, while an old man hiding behind their defensive lines demanded they take the shot. My silver pocket watch burned from inside my pants pocket and I tried to ignore it, ignore that I would be fighting most of the state alchemists I had been trading notes with for months. They were good people during the day, but they made bad decisions at night, when the devil came to offer them money, power, and prestige. I can't say I blame them, but neither can I truly sympathize.

Our orders were different, Edward had some mission he was supposed to accomplish that I hadn't been informed of, and I was to help wherever help seemed to be needed. I tapped the driver on the shoulder when we came close to HQ,

"Drop me off here, I have to help clear the inside."

The car squealed to a halt and I gave a mock salute to Edward.

"Take care, alright?"

Before he could answer there was an explosion behind us, silhouetting him in red and orange. I resolved to learn how to paint sometime in the future, that image deserved to be immortalized.

I jerked around to find the source of the blast, pinpointing the location and cross-referencing the maps before the expletive could fully leave Yoki's mouth.

"That was from E-sector. It looks like they could use a hand." I turned back to Edward, reaching inside my pocket and drawing out a handgun clip, tossing it to him. He caught it deftly and raised an eyebrow at me.

I pointed to it, grinning. "It's the explosive rounds we experimented with. I managed the stabilize the formula. Weeell, ish."

He grinned, "Thanks!"

I waved behind me as I ran, mentally mapping out the route I should take, only to run into a...creature. 'Creature' is the only name for it, the dragons pulse had barely any read on it, it was only barely alive. There were red lines running around its face and pale, slimy body. It lunged at me, mouth open wide, saliva dripping from large, blunt teeth. I hesitated to shoot it, unsure what it was exactly. A bullet took it from behind and I saw a soldier, dressed in black like our revolutionary forces.

"Major! This way!"

I took that as a sign that the white things were not friendly and opened fire, creating a pathway to the soldier who had called out. When I reached him I took note of his injuries, a few scratches to the left side of his neck, nothing life threatening, before he was pointing towards another hallway.

"Brigadier General Armstrong is through there, they were calling for reinforcements earlier."

I nodded to him in thanks before strolling casually towards the hall he indicated. The enemy would hesitate, unsure whose side I was on, our side knew me both by the trench coat and black I was wearing and as one of their commanding officers.

I stepped through a doorway to be met with more of the white creatures, sending round after round into the ones harrying fellow officers. I wasn't sure where these things had come from, but they definitely weren't a good thing. When I finally found Olivier her brother was with her, both fighting a creature that could only be a homunculus, judging by the energy it gave off. I considered helping, only to be stopped by Havoc, who for some reason was suited up and carrying a rifle. I glared at him, shrugging his hand off my shoulder.

"You should be with Administration, helping everyone coordinate. Who ordered you into the field?"

Jean rolled his eyes,

"Who do you think? The ice queen over there said we needed help, and damn was she right. There's a shit storm out there."

I raised an eyebrow,

"I was just outside, there are only a few isolated conflicts, nothing large scale."

He snorted,

"You didn't come in the main entrance, though, did you?"

"Of course not."

"There's the problem. There's practically a siege at the main gates, and full on war just outside."

My eye twitched,

"And no one else thought to take the back entrance?"

Jean shrugged, and I sighed.

"I think Edward was headed that way, too, dammit."

There was another explosion from outside and I rushed towards a window to see Ling flash by before losing sight of him. I twirled my Sonic absentmindedly, cataloging the aspects of the war around me. Where was I even needed? Where should I go? A scream to my right answered that for me and Jean and I surged forwards, entering a courtyard filled with the white creatures overtaking a group of soldiers. Men from both factions were pressed against a wall and fighting together to ward off the creatures. A slight adjustment of the sonic and I ran a quick scan of the things as Jean opened fire.

The moment it was finished I examined the readings and sighed before drawing a handgun from the depths of my coat. I mowed my way through the creatures, ignoring every part of their anatomy except for the head. Soldiers aiming for the heart were quickly corrected.

"They're just empty bodies, no soul, no true life. No true pain receptors. Aim for the brain, the control center. Otherwise, they won't be going down for a few minutes yet."

Their aim adjusted, we moved through the masses easier, only the occasional injury occurring to our side. The men in blue hesitated once we had left the danger zone, looking at us uncertainly. I examined their uniforms and posture, picking out the leader of the group quickly and facing him expectantly.

"We're on your side, you know. These things, the ones who created them, _They _are the enemy, the enemy to the people, and a threat to the welfare of Amestris. So which will it be? Your brothers in arms or the group that created creatures to solely kill you?"

Blue uniform jackets were shed and new orders were given out. I grinned at them for a bit before settling down on the ground, legs crossed, eyes closed, hands clasped 'Sherlock-style' under my nose. Jean poked me with the toe of his boot.

"Um, Steph? Now isn't the time to take a nap…"

I didn't move, breathing deeply, expanding my senses, and searching…..gotcha.

I stood in one fluid movement, setting off at a brisk pace.

"Just looking for our dear Colonel. It seems he's found an old friend amongst the fighters."

I could practically hear the grimace as Jean shuddered,

"Shit, he found Hughes then. Good luck explaining that."

I rolled my eyes, waving behind me before taking off at a real run, sights set on where Roy was throwing flames around like they were going out of style. Here's to hoping he didn't think Hughes was a homunculus…


	48. Chapter 48

Running towards the area I felt Roy's life force emanating from I couldn't help but give in to the urge to mutter under my breath about zombies. Of all the things the enemy could have used against us they used _zombies_. If this were a slightly different situation then I could be a bit excited about this. But it's the day civil war breaks out in my semi-adopted country, so no time to muse on the walking dead. I had a handgun drawn when I turned the corner and entered the same hallway as Roy, Maes, and Riza. The three of them were arguing, but it looked mostly like Riza and Roy ganging up on Maes, who looked annoyed about something. They looked up when I got closer, Roy's face blank, Maes grinning widely.

"Steph! Great to see you, tell these two idiots that I'll do more good in the field than helping civvies."

I snorted, "Absolutely not. Get the hell out of here and go to your family. I worked way too damn hard keeping you alive to lose you now that we're on the home stretch."

Maes' eyes twitched and Riza pulled him aside to whisper something into his ear, leaving Roy and I to awkwardly not look at one another. After several seconds of silence, I cleared my throat and looked up at the sky, tracking the progress of the eclipse. "So…..nice weather we're having today…"

"You saved him."

_Okaaay, we're being blunt about this then._

"Yup."

"You didn't tell me about it."

"Nope."

"Why?"

I glanced over at Maes and Riza, still refusing to meet his eye.

"Someone was out to kill him, therefore they must believe he was dead. From there it was whoever couldn't function properly without knowing he was alive who was informed. So...Surprise?"

I grimaced, glancing up at him to meet a blank stare briefly before looking away. He sighed,

"I don't know whether to shoot you for keeping him from me, or hug you for bringing him back."

I shrugged,

"Ya know, I would prefer the hug if we're being honest."

"Shut up for a second."

I snapped my mouth shut and he sighed heavily.

"Stephanie you have no idea-"

"How close you were to a taboo?"

I turned my eyes back to him and his snapped up to me sharply and I shrugged,

"I could tell. I distracted you pretty thoroughly enough I suspect."

He rolled his eyes, "That isn't the point. Does that not seem like a sign to you that the ruse has gone too far?"

I raised an eyebrow, "If he were truly dead then it wouldn't have mattered how torn up about it you were."

He facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face.

"That's-we're getting off track here."

I glanced to where Riza and Maes were returning to us and shrugged again.

"It's over with for now. I probably went about it the wrong way but I won't say I'm sorry for it, because frankly I'm not. You can yell at me, or shoot me for it, when all of this is over."

Maes stormed over to us, pouting slightly.

"Alright, I shall proceed to my girls. Though if they freak out because I'm dead but not dead then I'm holding you guys responsible."

He saluted and the three of us returned it, Roy having a semi-private moment with him where he extracted a promise to return to him safely.

I watched him sprint off and sensed Roy about to speak about it again. I whirled towards the main source of the taint in the dragon's pulse and started walking at a steady clip. The other two kept pace with me easily, Roy glancing around suspiciously.

"Where are we headed?"

"Towards Father."

At their surprised looks I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, of course we're headed for him. He's behind all of this, the sooner I put a bullet or two in him then the sooner I can go home."

"...back to your country?"

I snorted, glancing at Riza to make sure it didn't offend her.

"No, not there. I don't see myself returning there anytime soon. No, I meant my apartment. Come to think of it, I think Jean left the tea on…"

It was Roy's turn to snort, "Worry about your tea later, we have a war to fight."

I sighed, "It's not the tea I'm worried about, though that is a concern, it's the kitchen that bothers me. If it burns down I lose the deposit."

There was a second of silence and he grabbed my wrist, placing something in my hand. Riza had fallen behind, taking down a few of the zombie things before they could give chase. I slowed to a stop and stared at the alchemy glove in my hand for a second before looking back up at him, confusion plain on my face. He avoided my eyes, looking back towards Riza.

"I have a feeling I'll be needing a spare, best not to keep them all in the same place. Take care of that for me, would you?"

I could only nod dumbly before Riza was back and we had set off again. I shoved the glove into one of my pockets, tucking it gently underneath my sonic screwdriver. With the return of Riza came the return of our argument about tea, only slightly less light-hearted than before.

Our banter was stopped cold when I froze in place, feeling the throbbing _wrongness _in the pulse. I brought my gun up, prompting them to do the same, just as more of the white zombie creatures burst from the woodwork. Literally, they were streaming out of the air vents, falling towards us with speed augmented using gravity. It would have been over for any other group. But the Flame Alchemist, the sharpshooter Hawkeye, and the student she taught? We left a trail of slimy corpses, now thoroughly dead, as we proceeded through the base. I stretched my senses once we reached a lull in the stream of creatures, grinning when I sensed a certain two bright and sunny presences. I turned to my companions,

"We have Elrics incoming!"

Riza fought back a smile and Roy groaned dramatically,

"Great, Fullmetal, just what I need."

I rolled my eyes, opening the door just before Edward would have careened into it. He slowed down, staring at me and I waved.

"Welcome back, Master Wayne!"

He looked confused, but ignored my useless references as per usual, pointing at Roy and Riza warily.

"Are we sure they are who they say they are?"

I nodded sagely,

"Roy used his alchemy and Riza...well, she's Riza."

I paused before pointing at him dramatically, "Wait a minute, why aren't you concerned I was replaced?! That's a breach of security!"

He deadpanned, "Only you could say such weird random things."

I drooped slightly, anime tears falling, "I'm not weird, I'm awesome…"

Roy sighed, examining the room around us warily. "It's useless to check anymore, the shape-shifting homunculus is gone."

Edward and I sobered up immediately, turning to him. I raised an eyebrow in surprise, "What happened?"

He glanced at Riza before leading the way out of the room, towards where I had mentioned the taint was emanating.

"Envy the jealous killed himself."

My brain stalled for a second and I barely heard Edward's 'What!?', too busy picking up the pieces to my shattered plans and trying to fit them together without any of the parts that contained Envy.

"I nearly killed him for murdering Hughes, but Hughes appeared and stopped me, talking the thing down, and making it end it's own life, picked apart it's motives rather thoroughly."

Edward went silent for a second,

"So you know about Hughes, huh?"

Roy nodded sharply, not even glancing my way. This is going to be _pleasant _to deal with for the next twenty or so years of life. He's going to hold this over my head until the day I die, I can feel it. Then again, that day may very well be today if I don't start paying attention.

I dodged the swathe of shadow, wondering what the hell happened to Hoenheim that he let the thing get away. Our conversation stuttered out as we dodged the newly arrived homunculus, I cursed, bending backward to dodge a shadow spear while attempting to scan it with the screwdriver. Where the hell was Alphonse? I was certain he had been close to Edward…

I nearly stopped to slap myself in the face. Of course he would _seem _close, I wasn't exactly paying attention to elevation, he was probably on the upper levels, we were hella underground by now.

There was a rattle of steel and a few crashes that heralded the arrival of the chimeras, I ignored them, focusing on the creature wearing the guise of a child standing in front of me. He noticed my attempts to get closer and smiled sweetly at me. I shivered at the sight and it laughed,

"Are you afraid, child?"

I snorted almost violently, coughing slightly, gaining the attention of my companions, most of which were looking at me like I was nuts.

"Of course I'm not afraid of you. Shadows? Psht, I've seen way scarier shadows."

I gave him my own smile, this a feral grin to contrast with his farce of innocence.

"Ever heard of Vashta Nerada?"

He looked curious, slowing down slightly, eyes narrowing.

"No, I don't believe I have."

"Count yourself lucky then. They're piranhas made of shadow that hide in the dark. You would be dinner. Or a parasitic host of epic proportions, take your pick."

The whir of the sonic screwdriver followed my words, them having distracted him enough to give me the opening, causing him to crumple slightly, clutching his ears. Blood flowed easily from his nose and he glared at me,

"What are you doing?!"

I shrugged, grinning, "Oh, just sciencey things. You know, simply escalating the velocity of specific molecules in your physical makeup. Just the special molecules you have, not the rest of us. I'm going to assume that the stand-alone substance only within you is the philosopher's stone. In that case, your one advantage over us is also a weakness. Gotta love irony."

He growled at me, actually, literally growled. Like a creature, or an animal, rather than the child he appeared to be.

I resisted the urge to take a step back, instead grinning wider. "What, don't like that thought?"

He took a step forward, ignoring the way Riza turned her gun to point his way at the motion. "You know girl, I was told to take one of you, it's really too bad it couldn't be you…"

At that, the tide of zombies turned and we were nearly overrun, I couldn't focus on him, too busy covering Edwards back.

"Hey goldilocks, did you see your brother on the way in here?"

Edward didn't even glance at me when he answered, "No, he was still with _this _guy when I last saw him. Did _you _see him?"

The worry was plain in his voice and I hurried to reassure him, "I can feel his presence, he's alive. Near us, it would seem, but he could be several floors above or below for all I know. I really need to work on that elevation issue. Then again I only just realized that it _was _an issue."

He snorted, "Thanks anyway, Steph. It's nice to know he's alive."

We were cut off by the sharp noise of alchemy behind us, we whirled, Edwards eyes going wide in recognition. He took a few staggering step forwards but I held him back, eyeing the situation, brain going faster than ever before. I was more than half in my mind palace, cheating a little to seemingly slow down time to get a better chance to think.

Roy was held in the arms of shadows, Riza looking on in horror. He had been pulled right over the traced outline of a human transmutation circle. Shadowed hands were wrapped around his wrists, forcing his palms to touch the circle as the gate was forcefully ripped open. The eye opened at the bottom, and I didn't think it through.

It was only a theory, and an incomplete one cobbled together with theories from different novels and television shows from my world. But it worked, because the sound of the sonic hadn't even faded before I was right next to Roy, trying to yank him out of the circle. But I miscalculated. Edward had grabbed hold to try to stop me, being dragged along as well, and the both of us were too late to stop it.

We were caught in the light, thrown into a familiar white space, facing a gate. Edward eyed around us balefully, glancing at me after a second when the Truth didn't appear.

"How did you-?"

"What is time but motion? And what is motion but heat? And are not heat and energy but different names for the same thing? When you understand the implications of that, you'll understand how and what I did…"

Quoting Angela the Witch from the Inheritance cycle just got me a blank look. Before he could open his mouth fully, most likely to say he understood me perfectly well, he was a genius, thank you, the gate opened. Truth was behind us, I felt it. He didn't show himself, instead being content with a monologue.

"You made this deal early on, Arcaro. Your acquaintance Pride seems to have accidentally paid the price for this little trip, sideways though it will be. You seem to have a knack for twisting the rules of this place, don't you?"

What deal? I didn't make any sort of deal, and what the hell does he mean by sideways anyway?

Before Edward and I could so much as glance at each other, with me barely comprehending the pure fear in his eyes we were pulled through. I regretted hesitating. If he hadn't had time to grab hold of me then it would only be me that was thrust into this hell. Before I could even fully finish that thought we were through, no roadways of information, no intense pain. Just face meeting dirt. I rolled over as fast as humanly possible, just in time to see the gate closing behind us and fading to reveal a dark line of trees. The sun was gone, stars lighting the area up brilliantly. A much more familiar pattern of stars. I whacked Edward on the side several times while he gathered himself together.

"Ed….Ed, I'm home."


	49. Chapter 49

Edward looked at me, uncomprehending, and I repeated myself, expanding on the statement.

"Edward, I'm home, this is my...well, close to my home. According to the stars we're actually somewhere in Europe, but same dimension, so close enough!"

He was still looking at me blankly. I furrowed my eyebrows for a second, theories forming. I pointed to him, miming a mouth talking using my hand. He sighed,

"Stephanie, dass du lächerlich."

I froze, just staring at him. I know German when I hear it. That….is weird. I did wonder about the whole language thing. What doesn't quite make sense yet is why he changed to German now that he was here...unless it was the body, the wiring in the brain...And the body _was _different, his hair was styled differently, pulled into a ponytail and slightly longer than before. His clothes were different, a suit jacket, crisp white button-up shirt, black slacks, sensible shoes...yeah this dimensions Edward was different from mine. But the clothes did suit him- no, bad thoughts. Brother figure, brother figure, brother figure.

Another thought hit me while I was trying to chase away the evil ones and I wrinkled my eyebrows, ignoring whatever Edward was ranting about. Probably the way I was looking him over a second ago, judging by the red tint to his face. I tuned out the words, I wouldn't be able to understand them anyway. Different body…

I reached for his right hand, not letting him pull away and peeling off the white glove revealing tan skin. I pressed a finger over it lightly, trying to ascertain if it was the same rubber covered prosthetic as Edward had used in the movie for the 2003 version of the Anime. He stilled, probably realizing belatedly that he could feel his limbs. I curled his fingers in and grinned at him, deciding to test if his Drachman remained with him,

"How are you feeling?"

He glanced up at me from staring at his hand, eyes wide. He dropped to the ground, tugging off his left boot and just sat there, staring at his foot for a second. I held in the snicker that threatened to break free, letting him have his moment. He didn't seem to notice that the 'anime' style of everything was gone. I didn't have the words to explain it so I left it alone. After a second he grinned, looking back up at me, all gold and smiles, but with the slightest hint of suspicion.

"What's going on, Stephanie?"

I grinned, so not only did he keep the language, he studied even after I left.

"We changed...ah, I don't know the word in this language, so I doubt you do either. It's like your world, only layered to be similar and in another plane of...being. This one...is where I'm from."

He wasn't staring in incomprehension, so I took that to mean his genius brain put things together even where my words failed.

"Why didn't you...tell us then? And why don't we speak Amestrian like usual?"

My face fell into a small smile,

"Well, it's not like you would have believed me if I did. And I never learned Amestrian. With the change in...planes we stayed with our own languages, only now I don't understand it."

"Why!?"

I laughed, glancing around once again to make sure the trees around us were deserted, pulling my sense of the Pulse closer, trying to be more accurate with it.

"Ed, I have no idea."

I was eyeing around the trees when Edward shifted to lay down, staring up at stars that were unfamiliar to him.

"Try to get some sleep, I'll keep watch, Ed."

He snorted,

"Keep watch for what? I thought you said this was your home?"

I rolled my eyes, even though he wouldn't see it.

"This isn't the same country, wrong continent actually. And I don't know the political state of where we are, or if we're even in a friendly country. Hell, I don't know if the time matches up. It could be ten years after I left instead of around two."

He just sighed, rolling over.

"Have it your way."

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again.

"Hey, Steph?"

"Hmmm?"

"...do you think we'll make it back? Not that you have to go back if you don't want to, I mean, you are home and all-"

I shoved his shoulder lightly to get him to shut up.

"Chill, Ed. I'll get you home. And as for me...I don't know. I'm...not sure what I want anymore."

He left it at that, not responding. I sighed, crossing my legs and sketching circles in the dirt to keep me occupied. I was halfway through my sound manipulation circle when it hit me.

Alchemy. It shouldn't exist here, but there I was, scanning everything through the Dragon's Pulse. Did I just become more in tune with nature because of it? Or was I now capable of alchemy here now that I had learned through text and practice? Or….was this not _my _Earth?

That last one sent a shiver down my spine and I dashed out the circle, frowning.

I didn't last long before I sketched a simple one, pressing my fingers to it quickly. The light alerted Edward who surged up, glancing around,

"Whazzhapnen?"

I sighed,

"Just checking something. You might want to try a...what I just did, to make sure that it still works. It...didn't exist when I grew up here. If we _are _in the same place…"

He made a face before sitting upright and sighing, clapping his hands together and then slamming them into the ground. Nothing. He tried again, frowning. Nothing. He sketched out the circle and then tried again. Nothing.

He looked at me, expression lost and pleading. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration,

"There's...listen up, I can probably only get through this mindfuck once. There is a...theory, that...I don't have a word for it so we'll call it 'the art'. The theory is that the art has a...door within each person, the energy to create 'exchange' for the art is taken through the door. Since that energy has to come from somewhere there is a world where the art does not exist, there is simply the free flowing energy. The energy flows from that world to the one where the art is real, fueling the...stuff. Since I come from somewhere with no art but energy my door is...backwards. I suppose I could be taking energy from either place. But my theory is that I take latent energy from the air, like...the people across the desert. Since there is more energy here my...art is actually stronger, whereas your door is seeking energy _through_ a door where no energy actually exists, thus, no sparks. Got it?"

He was nodding along for most of it, making faces at my weird replacement words. When I was done he opened his mouth and I just knew he was going to have something to add. I waited for it, smiling slightly. If anyone could improve upon alchemical theories on the fly it was Edward.

He didn't get far. I stiffened, turning to where I felt massive disruptions in the Dragon's pulse. It led to a near epileptic fit that caused me to hiss and draw that extra sense closer to myself. I stood, drawing my gun again and handing a spare to Edward.

"Something's about to happen. Be careful, stay close."

He didn't get a chance to do more than scoff before the sound of gunfire reached us. We tensed, standing back to back, unable to determine where the sound was coming from. I let my eyes rove over the trees, wanting to stretch through pulse and find out where they were, but unwilling to risk the same backlash without knowing what was causing it. Shouts reached us that I couldn't understand and I turned my head slightly towards Edward.

"What's going on, Ed?"

He was silent for a second, then,

"Stop, halt, go to the left, there's one to the left, don't lose them-"

"Alright, I get it, they're chasing someone. Let's just hope we don't get in the way."

I looked around ignoring the words being shouted, until-

"Hey, Steph, some of it I don't understand."

I tuned in and smirked.

"It's _American English_. My language. They're also chasing something. Or looking for something. There's actually more cursing than actual instructions."

He snickered, "Sounds like you."

I rolled my eyes with a smile that quickly fell when the energy reached into my bubble. "Shit, here they come."

There was barely a pause of calm before the cars burst through the trees into our clearing, one side shooting at the other, both shouting at us. On instinct, we turned towards the language we understood. If I weren't capable of reviewing and slowing down what happened I wouldn't be completely sure. As it was both parties kept driving, not pausing in their shooting. Edward and I made eye contact, smirking, the same idiotic idea that would only work in an anime going through our heads. So of course, we try it anyway out of habit. We turn around towards the language we recognized,

"Stop" "Aufhören!"

There was no stopping of course, but they took notice of us. Uniformed arms reached out from both vehicles as they swept past, dragging us into the back of them. Edward with the Germans, me with the Americans. I was ready to roll my eyes until I saw the sigil painted on the side of the other vehicle. Swastika. I choked on air, lunging for the other car that was now falling behind, debris stuck in the wheel.

"Edward!"

I struggled against whoever was holding onto me,

"Wait, no! My...brother! I can't leave him with them!"

Whoever was holding me pulled me back, growling into my ear, a voice I, strangely enough, knew I had heard before. Maybe a documentary.

"Give it up, Miss. We hafta get outta here!"

I shoved my gun in my coat, turning to glare at whoever was standing there, pulling my dog tags out of my shirt,

"I'm Major Arcaro, drop me off here, I'll find my own way back!"

I glared at the man in front of me, refusing to let my mind carry me to where the information on him would be. I would have the headache from hell but I needed to concentrate right now.

He looked unconvinced.

"Major?"

I growled, actually growled, feeling Edwards energy getting fainter.

"Special division, trust me, you don't want to know."

I pulled away, jerking my arm free, turning, completely willing to tuck and roll off a moving army vehicle when I heard a rough sigh.

"Sorry bout this kid."

And everything went dark.


	50. Chapter 50

When I came back to awareness there was a hand on my shoulder. I promptly grabbed the wrist, throwing them forward and using the momentum to swing me up to a standing position. I recognized the soldier who I had been speaking to just before everything went dark, looking up at me in complete surprise. I growled, slapping him across his broad shoulder.

"You-you knocked me out! What the hell, man?!"

The idea hit me mid-sentence, laced with bits of truth and I committed before I could doubt myself.

"We _just fucking escaped_, and now my little brother is _back _with them!"

I straightened my coat, making sure to touch each pocket surreptitiously, as always no one thought to check the inside of a pocket that looked and felt empty from the outside. I glared at the soldier, hands on my hips,

"Well, fine, soldier boy, who are you then?"

He looked slightly sheepish now, doing a half-hearted salute.

"Sergeant James Barnes."

I sighed, reaching out a hand to help him up.

"Well, Sergeant-"

I had already helped haul him to his feet, leaving him looking stunned again when I stopped dead.

"Wait wait wait wait. James Barnes, the guy who runs around with Captain America and the, the, what were they called...Howling Commandos?"

He stood there, kind of dumbly for a second and looking him over again I knew I was right about who he was, but it was still up in the air about if I was right timewise, if Captain America wasn't a thing yet-

He laughed, nodding and looking overall embarrassed.

"Um, yeah. That's us."

_'You made this deal early on, Arcaro...'_

_'I could only hope if I ended up there it would be in the Nazi Germany that had Captain America running around in it, kicking all kinds of ass. I would be cool with that.'_

I groaned, falling straight to the ground to lay there, ignoring the panic that caused in the good Sergeant.

Of course, I was aware of the multiverse theory and of the possibility that anything was possible, and all combinations of time and probability co-exist so long as dimensional integrity is maintained, but I hadn't really factored it in, or considered it, not truly. I'd thought long and hard about the odds of encountering an '_anime' _dimension and one that I was familiar with, but the math got a bit difficult and cosmic and I honestly had other things on my mind. This is getting ridiculous. Sure, anime. Marvel? Captain America? The thought was sweet as fuck, but not what I need at the moment. Truth is an asshole, and the mere possibility that he was listening in on an inane thought I had was creepy as hell. But perhaps that was the bubble universe constant, no matter where you went the Truth sucked.

"Hey, kid, you alright?"

"I'm not a kid, I joined the army didn't I?"

He sat down beside me hesitantly,

"About that, you wanna tell us what you and your...brother were doing out here on the front?"

"Us?"

I sat up, confused, noting that all of the commandos were nearby, including a certain shield bearing captain.

It took me a half a second to control the fangirling. I had to close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose to ward off both 'the headache', that had ascended from the depths of hell itself to taunt me, and the urge screech in decibels only heard by the Marvel species of fangirl, used to attract others of their kind.

"Oh boy. Alright. Well, some of my story is classified, obviously. Most of the rest is personal. So, My brother and I were on the run, and obviously snatched by opposite parties at an inopportune time. So, I'll just go fix that."

I stood up, brushing off my jeans,

"Hey, who took my gun?"

Barnes pointed at where it lay on a stump further from the fire than we were.

"It's German make."

It wasn't said accusingly, just stating a fact, so I didn't take offense. I rolled my eyes instead. "I stole it from a German, of course it's going to be German make."

I tucked my hands in my jean pockets, taking a step closer to it, and was stopped by a large arm crossing my path, I looked up and had to let my face go blank in order to hold in the fangirl squeal.

"You can't go!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? Why, don't believe a woman can be of any use in combat?"

He stuttered, and I resisted the urge to snicker. Found Captain America's weakness, hehe.

The soldiers let him flounder and I did as well for a few seconds before I couldn't take it anymore and actually laughed, punching him lightly on the shoulder before he could bring himself together and actually win this argument. Because Captain America can't be caught off guard for long.

"Damn, stop it, you make me feel like a monster for putting you on the spot."

He stuttered more and I rolled my eyes,

"Got a name, oh master of eloquence?"

Barnes swooped in, swinging an arm around the Captain's shoulder, grinning.

"This is Captain Steve Rogers, sometimes known as Captain America."

I nodded in acknowledgment,

"Major Stephanie Arcaro."

There was a throat cleared behind us and I turned to see a man in uniform, grey hair. My mind provided the name so I saluted, winging it, acknowledging him like the superior officer he would be if I were really an American soldier in this case.

"Colonel Phillips."

He nodded to me,

"Major, or so I'm told. Never heard of you."

I smirked,

"Good, means I'm doing my job."

* * *

It was stupid easy to get accepted into the fold at the camp, and before I left I would have to address that major security flaw. As it was I was eating with the Commando's who had picked me up, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing at me for leaving Edward with Nazi's. Finally, the Captain sighed, putting his food aside.

"Major-"

"Just call me Stephanie, you guys don't care if I have rank anyway."

I stabbed my slop particularly viciously and the men around me winced. He tried again,

"Stephanie then. Is there any particular reason that they took you and your brother?"

I looked up at him, assessing. I tilted my head to the side, and I could tell he was resisting the urge to squirm. Right, at this point in his story he's not quite all he will end up being. Baby Captain America, Pre-teen perhaps. He doesn't really find himself, or rather his inspiration I suppose, for the fight until he loses Bucky. Finally, I sighed, sitting down in the dirt and grabbing a thin stick to write with.

"Fine. If we can't trust Captain America and his guys, then there's no point anyway."

I finished the circle quickly, knowing they were going to get impatient. I touched the edges and they jumped back with the lightning as a miniature Statue of Liberty formed. I sat back, grinning at their stunned faces.

"Science get's pretty sweet, doesn't it?"

Barnes sat forward quickly, pointing a shaking finger at the statue,

"What the hell was that?"

I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the stump behind me.

"Science, just like I said. My brother and I are the only ones in the world who know how to do it, even if he can't personally use it anymore."

I scowled at that,

"If he could then by now we'd both be free and sipping martinis somewhere warm. Or home. Home sounds nice."

One of the soldiers whose names I didn't know snorted,

"But what about the war?"

I deadpanned,

"The war would be over. He's a force of nature, I swear."

There was scattered laughter and I looked down at the statue.

"If I could find him then breaking him out would be easy enough."

Barnes snorted,

"No offense, but I don't see how statue making would free your brother."

I looked him in the eye and touched the edge of the circle still around the statue, letting it fall to dust. I grinned viciously,

"It's a very flexible art. Just consider me...a demolitions expert."

* * *

The next day I stood outside the tent I had been allowed to crash in for the night, watching the commandos suit up to search another base. A base that could contain Edward. Rogers appeared beside me in a move that would have scared the shit out of everyone other than me. I felt him coming, that super serum had super-sized his life energy as well, he was a flamethrower among glow sticks.

He leaned against the tent beside me, sighing,

"I'll lay it out plainly for you. Bucky, ah, James Barnes, feels guilty for having to leave your brother. He was left behind once, and I was the only one who came to his rescue. He was willing to look for your brother, and we agree that we can't leave a man behind. We'll keep an eye out for him. Can you describe him for us? Bucky only got a small glance at him."

I nodded, grinning.

"Gold hair, long, gold eyes as well. It's something unique to him."

The captain raised an eyebrow,

"Gold eyes? Does that have anything to do with, um…"

I shook my head, "No. And it's called Alchemy."

He raised an eyebrow at me,

"Alchemy? Like...turning lead into gold and living forever?"

I nodded, "Yes. But you can't take without giving, there's a price to everything in alchemy, and sometimes the price just isn't worth it."

There was the sound of a horn going off and he looked up to see some officer I hadn't met yet waving at him. He nodded to them before turning back to me.

"We're moving campsites, if we find him we'll send word along."

"Not necessary, I'm going with you."

At his expression, I continued quickly.

"Not on missions, obviously. Or into combat. But I will be following to your campsites."

He opened his mouth to protest and I sighed,

"Come on captain, Alchemy, the way I do it anyway, can be used to heal. It can heal more quickly and more thoroughly than anything else in existence at the moment. Allow me to be waiting for your guys when they get to camp. Let me patch them up. As ungrateful as I seemed earlier Sergeant Barnes saved my life, and you guys are doing me a big favor by keeping an eye out for my brother. Please, just...let me help you."

He considered me for a moment before sighing, glancing back at the convoy that was waving to him once again.

"Grab your stuff and let's go then."

I leaned into the tent, grabbing my coat and swinging it on as I followed him. When I jumped into the truck Barnes was putting his hand out, startled, "Um, what do you think you're doing? We said we'd send word about your brother, not jump into the war with us!"

I stared at him blankly for a second. "I think I'm already involved in the war, thank you."

I sat back, sighing as the truck started and the last bits of equipment were loaded.

"Besides, consider me your magic witch doctor. I've re-attached severed limbs in enemy territory with nothing but my shoelaces and a scalpel. I think I'm qualified."

Raised eyebrows at that.

"Do the limbs still work?"

I glanced around, seeing that the Captain was busy talking with someone about something on a clipboard and leaned in, they followed suit unconsciously.

"Keep it between us, okay?"

When they nodded suspiciously I took off my right glove, showing off the silvery scars. I was right, they looked much worse now that they weren't in anime coloring.

There was only silence as I pulled the glove back on sitting back and closing my eyes, planning to sleep on the ride.

"Yes, boys. The limbs still work."


	51. Chapter 51

The boys reported to me directly after their first mission, bringing along a bemused looking Captain. I simply rolled my eyes and cleared a space for all of them. A few had grazes and scratches, but one had managed to crack a rib. I thought through the consequences of changing the timeline, but overall things should remain the same. Essentially. So I took out a marker and drew the circles, sending sparks flying in the tent as I coaxed cartilage together and helped the energy through the body flow easier.

Several visibly wilted when the phantom pains they didn't even know they had just disappeared. I repaired cracked rifles as well, letting the commandos use my tent as a meeting place to talk away from prying ears while I repaired any and everything that needed it.

It was on one of those occasions, while I was watching a shoe knit itself back together, when a runner swept open the flap on the tent, "Captain! We've had a sighting of the kid!"

I tossed the shoe to Morita, face blank, and the runner continued, "He was in the vicinity of the next site."

Everyone gathered their gear and once again I internally cursed people's views on women in the 40's. I wasn't allowed to do _shit_, not even against orders like the Captain had done. He was male and 'Army Strong' to the extreme, while I was tiny and female. No one would support my attempts at a daring rescue. I didn't have a genius with a plane ready to fly me to my destination. I was actually put under guard by the Captain before he left to ensure that I wasn't going to follow.

He told me while looking apologetic.

"Sorry Stephanie, really. We just want you to stay safe."

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my legs and tilting my head. I stared at him that way for a while but he didn't budge, too used to my tricks. What a pity. I finally snorted, averting my eyes.

"Fine, fine, be that way, Cap. You head out to battle and leave little 'ol me awaitin' your return."

I watched them leave, waving. I kept watch on the lights of their lives until they left my range and then sat in the chair outside my tent where I had harassed the Captain. I stared at the guards for a while, trying to make them nervous. No luck. Finally, I gave it up as useless, pulling out a journal from one of my pockets to daydream up ideas on how to get home. Everyone in camp knew I had a tendency to pull pen and paper out of absolutely nowhere, so that got no satisfactory reactions either. I set to work with a slight pout that faded to annoyance the more I got into it. I kept an eye on what my guards were doing, waiting for a prime opportunity to take off and grab Edward. It would be a dumb idea to try and sneak around behind Captain America's back, but I couldn't leave Ed in the hands of people he didn't know who were going to seemingly capture him. Then there was the _language barrier _to worry about...

I had actually clapped my hands together to activate my circle and hide when I felt a large group approaching at the very edge of my range. I sank back into my seat, brow furrowed, concentrating. There were too many, too far away for me to be able to tell if Edward was with them, or anyone was missing. I scowled, staring into space. They were inching closer, moving quickly, far too quickly for a group returning home. I stood, facing the direction they were coming from, back stiff and straight. My guards came to attention as well, gazing warily at the direction I was looking. A few people around the base turned the same direction in alarm before whispering to each other and glancing my way every few seconds.

The group was within two miles of us when I realized none of the soldiers I recognized were with them. I whirled to my guards,

"Large group approaching, unrecognized personnel, I would prepare for the worst if I were you."

And with that I marched off into my tent, grabbing my weapons, loading my coat with guns and ammunition. I walked out of the tent, handgun drawn, and noticed that the men had taken my advice. Everyone was preparing for an attack, guns in hands and untrained personnel were hidden away. Having the Captain interact with you on a regular basis does wonders for other's opinions it would seem.

Hydra soldiers burst into the clearing, guns blazing, and war cries dying on their lips as they realized we were somehow waiting for them. We opened fire and I directed several groups to cut off the soldiers sent to flank us on the left. It was...chaos. There were people everywhere and the mountains of bodies began to build. I tripped over a few, some Hydra, some familiar. It could have been hours of blood, screams, flying dirt and bullets, or it could have only been minutes. The number of enemies was starting to overrun us when I felt it, another group rapidly approaching. I resisted the urge to whimper, praying they weren't Hydra reinforcements. They weren't. At the lead of the charge was an unusually bright signature. I turned to the guards beside me, grinning, twisting between as if to get a better shot at a particularly bold enemy combatant. I spoke normally while between them, counting on the battle raging around us to cover my words from unfriendly ears.

"Reinforcements are almost here. It's the Captain."

My words were met with nods and the word was spread. Second winds were found, and spirits were raised. Well, most spirits. Mine sank through to the soles of my boots at the sight of a certain Gold head on the battle field. I ducked and dodged around people, shoving a few out of the way to grab Edwards arm and yank him out of the bulk of the action. His expression turned from fierce to beyond relieved when he saw who it was.

"Stephanie! They said the enemy would have killed you!"

I rolled my eyes, looking him over for injuries as best I could while keeping us mostly out of the action.

"Don't be ridiculous, these are my countrymen. And the 'good guys' for crying out loud."

He looked offended for a second, opening his mouth to protest but I grabbed him by the front of his uniform and dragged the both of us out of the way of the spray of bullets.

"I'm serious, Edward, these Hydra guys are bad news. I'm talking genocide. Men, Women, Children. Chosen for death because of who their ancestors were, and the religion they choose to follow."

He scoffed, "Please, I've lived with these people for just over a week-"

"And you've known me for about two years. Whose word are you willing to take at the moment?"

At least now he seemed to be giving it some thought. There was an uproar from several feet to the right of us, with the Captain's group catching the Hydra forces by surprise.

"Edward, not meaning to rush you or anything but you need to pick someone to go with quickly before they de-"

I was interrupted by something being screeched at the two of us in German. Edward had shed the uniform coat by the time I paid him any attention, the screaming soldier mostly ignored by the both of us, his gun was empty, every time he squeezed the trigger at us getting us another screech, apparently he felt Edward had betrayed them in some way. I grinned at Edward, about to make a comment on his sudden change of wardrobe when there was shouting behind us. The commandos had made their way to the front of the Hydra lines, standing with their backs to friendlies once again. A few nodded to me in recognition, the Captain included, and I grinned feeling accomplished. I shouldn't have looked away from Edward.

The fight had mostly died down, those that hadn't fled were surrendering, completely surrounded. Except the very verbal one, he had yanked a gun away from someone else, sending me whirling around at the sound of a shot. Edward dissolved in a flash of blue light and the sound I made can't be described as human. The Hydra operative who shot Edward had several soldiers converging on him but I made it there first, yanking the stolen piece of Asgardian technology out of his grip before turning back to where Edward had stood. I had felt the energy in him fade, felt his life leave as his body disintegrated. He was _gone_.

I stood there, staring at the weapon that had killed him, feeling like I was being torn apart from within, like my insides were turning on each other and devouring whatever they could reach. A large, warm hand gently touched my shoulder and I snapped out of it quickly, the pain getting worse and becoming more physical than emotional. I took a threatening step towards the man who had fired, theory solidifying as the tingling in my toes and fingers intensified. This wasn't shock, not quite. The German man had started speaking English, yelling at the men who held him down.

"Traitor! He deserved death! Traitor!"

I growled, held back by the Captain, judging by the energy. The temperature dropped viciously, several people shivering, the Commandos eyeing me as if it was my fault. In a way it was. Darkness came closer and the air stilled, wind gone but cold intensifying. I went limp and the Captain let go of me. I swiftly stepped away from everyone, putting a few feet of distance between me and everyone else.

"I...may have left something out of my initial report about my brother, Captain."

The wind returned, surging to the middle of the group of us, turning and whirling a few feet behind me, solidifying as the familiar and terrifying image of the gate. I met his eyes, wide, blue, and confused.

"We're...not exactly...from this dimension. Sorry."

My eyes flicked to Barnes, and I didn't get to apologize to him as well before the doors snapped open, shadow arms crawling towards me. I needed to cram my explanation in quickly.

"He was released from this dimension, and he was the only thing tying me here, body and soul."

The Captain eyed the arms, several soldiers taking a step back but I didn't even bother to try and run. Not like I could escape anyway.

"What...what is it?"

I glanced up at the captain from where I was glaring at the fingers approaching me. I gave a half smile,

"That, Captain, is Hell."

My exaggeration must have annoyed it because the arms shot forwards, wrapping tightly around me, dragging my now instinctively writhing and protesting self through the gate and into the darkness, doors slamming shut behind me. My last sight of the world that wasn't quite my home was of clear, sad, blue eyes.


	52. Chapter 52

I faced a blank white space once again. The glowing blue gun in my hand slipped away, disintegrating as if it were made of paper and trying to float the Congo, the doors slammed open, the voice resonating from everywhere.

"That, is _quite _the price you're paying."

"Well, sh- "

Apparently, there is pain worse than the torture I'd experienced before. Having so much crammed into my head was terrifying as well as painful. I had to stash all of it away behind a door where I could deal with it later, positive that I wouldn't be able to handle all of it at once while stumbling back into a war zone, if even that much was left.

I saw the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and promptly woke up in glaring sunlight. There was silence for a second, and I was careful not to move, not to so much as breathe. There was a presence only a few feet away from me, one that radiated energy like I had never felt before. There was no comparison to the nearly blinding light of several blips of pure tesseract energy. I retreated into my own mind, instinctively desperate to get away from whatever was making that light.

I could hear from outside, someone calling my name. Edward. Why is that unusual again? Oh, yeah. He's dead. Then why is he-

Next thing I knew his voice was right next to my ear, whispering reassurances, begging for me to wake up. I wasn't asleep, and I definitely wasn't dead, like he seemed to believe at the moment. Telling him otherwise would involve getting up. That would attract the attention of whatever monster was radiating that obscene amount of light. But then the thing spoke.

"Give up on her child, she is most likely lost to you now. Her soul must have been taken by the gate, it would explain your long absence. She gave her soul to bring you back."

Edward laughed, a cackling thing that was more shivers and chills than sunshine and fun.

"We weren't at the gate the whole time, so your theory doesn't add up. Nice try on trying to guilt trip me, though. A for effort."

Definitely a phrase he learned from me, but Father didn't pay any attention to it, and who could it have been but Father anyway?

"Then you must have continued through! My, my child, now it makes sense. The oddity surrounding this one, it was not that she was not human, but that she was not a human of this plane. How curious that she would then turn her efforts to help such a hopeless cause as you. Well, but it makes sense now how she could have fooled us at all. No normal mortal had a chance, and I was correct. She can't be fully mortal if she came from beyond. What she must know...I think I shall just have to bring her back for myself."

"You can't do that!"

Edward sounded furious, and just a bit on the desperate side. I wanted to roll over, twitch, something, anything really, to indicate that I was, in fact, alive, but I just wasn't able. My body wasn't responding as it should, I think the shock had finally caught up with me. The info dump from the Truth definitely wasn't helping, neither was that hit to the head I had sustained upon landing.

"You can't just bring back the dead!"

"Oh, but I am _God _now, remember? Human life is such a simple thing, either giving or taking it. How will any of you hold up, fighting against your friend? It should be interesting to watch, in the very least."

Oh hell, but how was trying to bring me back going to work if I wasn't dead? Would he just think he failed? Would it actually turn me against my friends? That would be very not good.

My skin was getting warm and I had a split second to hope it was only the sun before the tearing began. Right in the center of my chest, rather than over the heart as I had assumed. A burning, tearing sensation, and movement was finally shocked back into me. I wasn't aware that I was screaming and writhing until I felt someones' hands on my wrists. The energy was plainly clear when they were touching me, and I sunk further into myself, basking in the feeling. Edward was alive. I was in Hell, but Edward was alive again.

There was another sensation introduced, a coldness, spreading just above the burn, too cold. Rather than relief from the pain it came in sharper, and agony was all I knew.

So this is what it feels like when you try to shove a soul into a body that's already occupied.

This must be what the Cruciatus curse feels like...If this is anything like what Kimblee experienced then I am so, so sorry...

This had to stop...I mentally reached for a transmutation circle, any circle that was located on my body, and found one, right inside the pocket of my jacket. I silenced the world around us with a violent twist of the dragons pulse through the circle, stopping the pain almost instantly. I was right, shock the guy enough and he would drop what he was doing.

I drew in a few steady breaths, opening my eyes, to gaze around me. Eyes were wide, and gazes rested on me. I let the sound of the world snap back into place, pushing myself up into a sitting position, leaning against a stone wall. Father looked younger than that one glimpse I'd gotten of him during the opening theme and episode one, when he looked like Hoenheim. But he wasn't at his best. Obviously, the others had been going at him for a while. The courtyard was completely wrecked, and Father's veins were bulging out, most likely with the strain of having to hold in those 'godly powers' of his that he had been raving about. He was probably on his last leg if he was thinking of bringing in a new pawn so late in the game, and so randomly. This took me barely half a second to put together in a neat stack of observations resting in my mind palace.

I sucked in a deep gust of air before letting it out slowly and glancing at Edward who was staring at me in slight awe. Right, he thought I had been dead.

"Glad to see you alive again, Hydra's a bitch, huh?"

Father spoke, sounding the slightest bit annoyed. "Girl, attend your master."

I turned to look back at him, raising an eyebrow, and I could practically hear the people around us holding their breath, waiting for me to choose a side.

"Excuse you? One, I don't answer to 'girl', and two, I am the master of my fate, 'I am the captain of my soul'. So back off, ass hole, if you don't mind."

There was a swell in the energy that had been crippling before and I clutched my head for a second to ward off the debilitating pain it brought on. Yeah, bad idea to mouth off to a deity. What a day to have a Gryffindor moment. Today is a Slytherin day, it really is, but do I act that way? Of course not. Let's insult the one with the power to rip out your soul by twitching his finger.

Brilliance. Utter. Brilliance.

He snarled, "I don't understand, why do you not obey me? I brought you back from oblivion!"

I pulled myself to my feet, Edward helping me rise up in the end, and I leaned on him slightly as the world finished spinning a bit.

"Sorry, my soul's from beyond, remember? Even Truth didn't have the rights to it."

I glanced around, taking stock once again of who was present. Major Armstrong (missing a shirt, as always) , Ling who was actually Greed (that was confusing as hell), Mei (panda bear in tow), Alphonse (good to see him again), Riza (looking a bit scuffed up, holy-shit-I-hope-that's-not-her-blood), and Roy (eyes milky white and unseeing, and doesn't that just break your heart?).

My attention was yanked back to Father, who sneered, holding his hand out, palm up. "I am GOD, there is nothing I am not capable of."

A miniature sun began to burn, giving off an unearthly glow and casting a cruel light onto his features.

I tilted my head, "Nuclear fusion, I did that once in the kitchen. Jean was furious cuz I left burn marks on the dining table."

Then the bastard threw the ball of flame at me. I pushed Edward to the side, and we dove out of the way, tumbling to a halt behind a protruding bit of masonry. There was a small explosion when the miniature star met the pavement, and we huddled further behind our improvised shield.

My breathing was harsh, and I leaned against it heavily, trying to get my brain back in the right place. I glanced over at Edward,

"Did you guys have a working plan before I crashed in and fucked everything up?"

He nodded and I motioned towards Father,

"Well, have at it!"

He shook his head, glancing around the stone at where Father was now ranting at the crowd he could still see.

"We can't shake him up enough, Greed almost had it, but if he get's close again he's going to get his stone ripped out. I'm not sure if I can manage to keep him still and distracted long enough to get a solid hit in, never mind a kill shot."

I leaned my forehead against the cold stone, closing my eyes and evening out my breathing. I opened my eyes in a room filled with books and images, some floating through the air hazardously. I sighed, I would have to do some major clean up sometime soon. All this back to back torture really wasn't good for my psyche. Or mind palace organization. I scrolled back through memory, through what I knew, and what I had seen, what I had been told, and what I had guessed, then I came to the last instance I had used the Sonic Screwdriver, what the main setting was still on.

I emerged from my mind palace with a grin, belatedly realizing that Edward was still talking about how if Greed was or was not likely to sacrifice himself to give anyone an opening. I moved to speak but was cut off by the familiar sound of snapping and the delayed feeling of incoming heat. Edward grabbed me this time, picking me up halfway as we rolled into a run to escape the incoming flames. We were out in the open again, cut off from our allies and closer to Father than to them. I hissed as the flames passed us by, whispering harshly to Edward.

"Who the hell is letting the blind guy whip around fireballs?"

"Riza's directing him, but Father just takes over control and whirls it right back, or at a different target, like just now."

Father turned to lob another energy blob at the crowd, the section containing Alphonse. I knew before he ran that Edward was going to launch forward, and I was a second too slow to stop it.

Edward kicked low, barely missing one of Father's ankles as the 'god' sidestepped, turning slightly to face his new opponent. Edwards blows either missed or did little to him. I reached for my sonic, sensing an opportunity while Father was occupied, but before I could retrieve it from my pocket Father had grown tired of him, snapping up a piece of metal and pinning Edward to a stone wall with the rod through the joint of his automail.

"I think your life energy should be plenty to renew my control…"

I took a step forward, a mistake. I should have struck from where I was. Father waved a hand at me, almost contemptuously, and the Cruciatus pain was back. It stopped just long enough for me to realize I was on the ground.

"I can't move your soul, but just touching it seems most effective."

The pain was back and I could only hope that someone hit him hard enough for him to lose concentration before I lost my sanity.

Figures of white static moved in front of my eyes, and the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat, a painful thudding in an icy cavity deep in my being. I couldn't breathe properly, couldn't think. Then it was gone. I looked up, eyes still mostly out of focus, but clear enough to see roughly what was happening. I think.

It appeared as if Edward had two arms, while going at Father rather viciously. Alphonse' armor was lying in a heap beside a trembling, crying Mei Chang. Greed was dancing at the edge of the battle, and Father was edging ever closer to him. I slid my Sonic out of my coat with shaking fingers, pointing it towards the 'deity'. I clicked the button just as I saw Greed tense to surge forward, causing Father to scream, clutching at his head. Greed did mostly the same, stumbling back some. Edward didn't hesitate, plunging his fist straight through Father's chest.

There was a rumbling in the Dragons Pulse, and I tentatively opened myself up to it once again, feeling the monstrous energy emanating from Father fluctuate before sucking in on itself completely, right into an open gate. The gate slammed closed, fading from view.

I tucked my Sonic back into my coat, breathing in rasping breaths.

"Sorry bout that Greed. Forgot you also had a philosopher's stone."

I flopped to the ground, closing my eyes, trying to catch my breath.

I felt Riza walk forwards hesitantly and kneel by my side.

"What did you do to him?"

I huffed out a breath, "Same thing I did to Pride before I left on a side trip to a different dimension. Agitated the molecules of the 'perfect element', which only resides inside our local Homunculi. And their Father, apparently. I hadn't used my sonic's main setting since then, so the calibration for it was still exactly the same. No diagnostics or scans needed. Just point and go."

I brought a shaking hand up to smooth the hair out of my face, looking around the clearing. "Where's Jean?"

"He's fine, helping in another quadrant." I nodded my head slightly, willing the trembling in my limbs to quit so I could stand. Seeing my intentions Riza offered a hand, helping haul me up. Edward was carving a familiar looking circle into the stone in front of us. He tossed aside the rod he had been using and I felt adrenaline spike once again, purely out of horror and apprehension.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. This is my last transmutation. Stand back and-"

I surged away from Riza, growling at him.

"Oh, like hell I'm letting you do that."

He clapped his hands, I inserted one of mine before they could touch, yanking him to the side and out of the circle.

"Listen here genius, there's more than one answer, there always is. You could use the stone, free those souls from their trapped existence-"

He shook me off, glowering.

"I promised Al we would never use a stone! I won't use another human life to make up for our mistake!"

I met his eyes, despair filling me when the only other options I could come up with royally sucked. I couldn't let Edward lose his alchemy. That was one of my main goals. He'd be able to live without it, sure. But it was a major part of his personality and his lifestyle. It would be a crime against humanity to rob them of a genius of his caliber. I guess it's not like I really belonged here anyway. I sighed, reaching a hand into one of my expanded pockets, pulling something out and grabbing his hand, placing it inside.

"Well, guard that for me would you? Little memento of this idiot for you to keep around."

"What?"

I stepped into the circle, glancing out at everyone.

"Maybe _you _can't use a human life, but I don't care either way at the moment. My soul won't be taken into the gate, at worst I'll end up in another world again. I know what you're going to attempt, Edward. And you'll hate it. Sure, you could endure, but the Fullmetal Alchemist-no longer an alchemist? Kind of a universe shattering concept."

He made to step back towards the circle,

"Goodbye."

I slammed my hands together sharply, flinching at the usual feeling of being slowly sucked through the gate. I ignored the cries of my friends, the people I had thought of as family for so long. I couldn't let Edward do this to himself. And it's not like I ever really, truly, belonged here in the first place. I just wish I had something a bit more meaningful to say at the end.

I grinned at the lot of them, watching as some of them took steps towards the circle. I saw their expressions and my smile faded, and I had to resist the urge to cry. One last quote.

"Everything's got to end, otherwise nothing would get started."

I slammed my hands to the ground before Edward could take a step forward, vaulting headfirst into the familiar white space. I faced the Truth, ready to accept whatever hellhole he decided to toss me into. It didn't speak for once, merely disappearing, allowing an emaciated Alphonse to take his place. A gate appeared behind me and the gate behind Alphonse opened as well. I walked towards the gate, pausing and touching his shoulder gently as I passed.

"Bye, Al. I'm sorry I didn't get to make any of those things for you like I promised. Just talk to Havoc, I gave him a recipe book for most of them."

He looked startled, not expecting to see me. Before he could question it I walked forward, refusing to look back. I heard the doors open for Alphonse just as they closed behind me. The darkness was complete and I could only wait to see where I would end up.


	53. Chapter 53 The End

I hesitated before stepping out of the gate, and felt a push to get me on my way. I toppled forwards none too gracefully, hitting the ground roughly, getting the breath knocked out of me. But that wasn't what had me curling up in pain, clutching my chest. I had barely even hit the dirt when there were several small explosions from my coat, and one larger, leaving burns all along my legs and chest. Even that wasn't what caused me to whimper and fight back tears.

It was _gone_.

An entire sense I had been cultivating for more than a year.

Imagine, feeling all the energy in the world, of all the people, all around you, all the birds, the trees, the Earth itself. And then have it ripped away from you. Imagine. It's like seeing with the eyes of an artist and then going blind, like being a musician and then going deaf, being a chef and losing your sense of taste. The scenery, the music, the food, it's all still there even after the masters can no longer perceive them. Now I'm an alchemist who's lost the pulse. Alchemy was gone. I could feel the loss, stinging acutely in every line of my body, my fingers ached and I snapped them once, receiving no answering feed of information from the atmosphere. I had only _just _gotten the understanding of transmuting without a circle, and now the ability to transmute at all was gone.

Gone. Absent. Departed. _Not __**there**__._

I didn't even realize I was shaking until my head knocked against the ground. I pulled myself together, I had to see where I was, make sure I wasn't anywhere dangerous, now without alchemy, I would be vulnerable, at least I had a gun-

My coat was in tatters and the only answer for it that I could come up with was that all of my arrays had simultaneously failed, unable to stay active because alchemy was impossible here. My sonic screwdriver was in the most violently destroyed pocket, little pieces of mangled metal were all that was left of it, along with the opal, now slightly crispy, that had been the jewel on the end. Now it looked like a child's marble that had survived a house fire, rather than part of a weapon/tool/friend that had been used in numerous military operations. Most of what had been the expanded pockets were destroyed or just plain dust.

I pulled out the State Alchemists' pocket watch, grateful it was still the same heavy silver. If both it or the glove had turned into crappy cosplay quality I would have lost what little remained of my mind. As it was they could simply be expensive cosplay props, what proof did I have that all of that was even real? What proof did I have that I lived as I did, a military official in a fictional country on the brink of war?

I pulled up the sleeves of my jacket and shirt violently, for the first time in my life letting out a sigh of relief at seeing the silvery scars. Usually, I prayed that the dreams weren't real, that I hadn't been held and hurt as I remembered. Now I was grateful for the permanent markings. They were my proof, my validation. I pulled the sleeves down with jerky motions, putting the broken pieces of the sonic back into my one still intact pocket, still breathing hard, pretty positive I was going into shock. I dragged my limp limbs over to the side of the brick alley I was in, pulling myself up to lean against the wall so I could catch my breath and get a better look at everything. This angle caused my dog tags to dig into my neck and I sighed a little in relief, more proof.

The scene caused my breath to catch and my mind to still before going into overdrive. I knew this alley, I knew it very well because it was in this alley that I had made a decision that changed my life irreversibly. I followed the cracks in the brick up the wall, unrealistically expecting the same posters and fliers. I shouldn't have been surprised by the change. Anyone would have been surprised by what the new poster was. It was no longer a flier about the new Mexican place opening down the street. No, it was a picture with my face plastered in the middle, taken with the flush of victory from winning a marching contest during the school year before I left.

_'Have you seen me?'_

I was back. _This _was the dimension where I had disappeared. _This _is where I was from. My Aunt, my brother, they were only a few blocks away. I didn't really think, I was on my feet and staggering out of the alley before my brain caught up with what I was doing. I shoved the glove and the watch deeper into one of the inner pockets, setting what was active of my frazzled brain to walking as normally as possible. It was surreal, seeing the familiar sights pass me by, somewhat changed from how I had last seen them. The Winters had repainted their house, it was a soft green now, Mrs. Porter from the homeowners association must be dead then, she never would have allowed that. She was rumored to be in her eighties when I left, but no one would ever confirm it.

I passed dead grass and lush gardens, comparing the size of the dogs in the yards to what I remembered. Aunt Liz's house looked different as well, the paint peeling and most of the flowers dead. The only ones left were the lilies. They weren't even properly flowers when I left. They were sprouts that I had planted because of the Harry Potter reference. Now they had taken over most of the yard and it looked like no one had made even the slightest effort to tame them.

I proceeded up the steps, something in the back of my mind registering that Taylor's car was in the driveway, unusual for midday. I rang the bell, aware that my keys were gone, and belated realized that I would probably be grounded for losing my phone, not like I could explain I sacrificed it to a being that believed it was god in order to save some strangers life. Then again, losing my phone was hardly going to compare to the whole 'gone for about two years' thing…

I rang the bell again, as it was my custom to ring annoyingly until it was answered, and heard Liz yelling from what must have been the living room.

"Just a second, jeez."

I smiled slightly, something in me jumping to hear her voice after so long.

The door swung open and I took in her pale face, blonde hair pulled up into a bun. I watched her face go from annoyed to disbelieving in an inhuman amount of time. I waved halfheartedly, knowing I was covered in dirt and looked more than a little rough, skinnier than when I had left and something in my eyes looking just a little foreboding. The scorch marks on my coat probably didn't help.

"Liz." The relief in my voice, or maybe just the sound of it, broke her out of her trance. She surged forward and the victim, or maybe it was the soldier, in me was wary of being attacked. Long experience and ingrained trust of my aunt was the only thing that kept me from dodging or lashing out. I was pulled into a bone crunching hug that was definitely weaker than any of Armstrong's, but in other ways more crushing.

She whispered into my ear, sounding thoroughly out of breath.

"You're home. Stephanie, you're home."

Home? Yes, I am home. For real this time. I really am, well and truly...home. But did all of me return? I left something important behind, something irreplaceable. Perhaps it was my innocence, left in a dark room in a warehouse in the South of Amestris. Then again, it could have been my heart, left with the idiots who I had cared for so much. It might be my humanity, left with a whimpering shell of the man who had gifted me into the hands of terrorists.

Either way, I was home...mostly. So I clutched Liz tighter, barely hearing when she started yelling for Taylor, only really noticing when I was traded over to a taller form, stronger arms holding me close. Home.

* * *

**Three Months Later**

I was sketching out yet another array, shaking right hand pressing into the paper. Nothing. Always there was nothing. I slid the paper forcefully off the desk, not bothering to watch it land on top of the others layered on my bedroom floor. I threw the pen violently, ignoring the solid noise it made hitting the wall. I glanced at the windows, seeing sunlight flowing inside. If I were in Amestris and had this much time on my hands I would be watching television with Jean, reading a book somewhere, or working my tail off doing research. That last one had failed, obviously. And the first one was impossible as well. Watching television alone was depressing, and watching it with Taylor or Liz was worse. They weren't the _same_. I hadn't even realized I had come to prefer Jeans company to my flesh and blood family. Reading a book wasn't an option either. Mainly because I wanted to read a real book. Obviously, I had been banned from going to the library after what had happened the last time I'd tried to go there. I had to go with the both of them as an escort if I wanted to go at all, and even then I was watched closely and taken home if someone so much as looked at me in a way their suspicious minds deemed sketch.

I was home, but I was a prisoner. I couldn't go outside like I wanted to, I had to visit a hospital regularly, and a therapist as well. The police had given up finding out what happened only weeks after I got back. I wasn't talking about it, and they were resigned to knowing that I was certain it was over. They had been inclined to believe I was a runaway right up until I had gotten a full physical. Apparently, the scarring on my arms in places I couldn't humanly reach were enough evidence that I hadn't been gone willingly. At first, Liz and Taylor were happy knowing that I was back and alive, but gradually it wore off. Liz didn't understand why I couldn't just _talk _to her about it, why I couldn't explain why sometimes I woke up screaming or crying, and not knowing where I was. Taylor was a fully fledged doctor now. He had heard the horror stories from those that had treated victims of kidnappings and soldiers with PTSD. He was understanding of my silence for a while. But he broke too, also demanding answers and getting annoyed and hurt when I still refused to give any.

But I had music, and old books, the new season(s) of Doctor Who, Supernatural, and surprisingly a new one of Sherlock.

Who am I kidding, I miss those idiots. And I always will. I made it home, I made it back like I had always assumed I wouldn't. I'm sure things will improve.

**One Year Later**

Turns out, my birthday that happened in Amestris still counted in America. That was a duh once I actually thought about it. Just because I didn't have a traditional party with Liz and Taylor present doesn't mean that it didn't actually happen. I was a legal adult. They had no right to keep me locked up. For the months after I realized this I didn't have the heart to cruelly point out that 'you aren't the boss of me'. I cracked after a while, eventually bringing to light in an awkward conversation that not letting me leave the house reminded me of captivity.

Freedom was granted in small doses and when I proved that I wasn't going to disappear I got a job. Liz threw a fit because of my 'condition', Taylor because of where I had gotten the job. Apparently being an assistant/secretary at a budding private investigation company wasn't 'respectable'. Before Amestris I wouldn't have been able to argue with them. I would have protested for about a day and then called in to quit. But I'm not the same. I have ordered soldiers into battle, I have marched into that battle myself, and I have fought creatures that would haunt the nightmares of the bravest of men. I'm not going to fear my family.

I took my experience from working in Investigations and reorganized the filing system of the agency I was a part of, I made sure to offhandedly point out things I knew they wouldn't notice for day's, and made casual 'guesses' that lead to the right places. I was patient. I would move up the ranks, I would have as close to my old job as possible. I would use the 'experience' to get a government job doing the same thing, because let's be honest, this is me now. This is what I do. I solve crimes, with no one to blog about it. I will move on. There really is no other option.

It's honestly better this way, I know how to survive without alchemy, I'd done it for most of my life. Edward had gone without it for a few minutes at a time on only a few occasions and practically lost his mind each time. And I had no idea what went through his head when he lost it for a _week_. Well, I did. He joined the Nazi's, not his finest moment. No, this way was better, I'm sure. I was never meant to be apart of that story in any case. Besides, I got out of this better than they did. They had what, the photo for my file and three measly group pictures with me in them? I had two different anime series, several movies, and a manga. I could see them anytime I wished, hear their voices. But I'm not so much of a masochist that I do that often.

I'm not going to live in the past. I have two good legs, I'll keep moving forward.

_"You'll have to decide for yourself. Walk on your own. Move forward. You've got a strong pair of legs, Rose. You should get up and use them."_

I've got strong legs, too, I suppose. I just need to use them.

**The End.**

(Unless you'd rather this weren't the end, in that case there's more.)


	54. Chapter 54 The Beginning

_I met Edward's' eyes, despair filling me when the only other options I could come up with royally sucked. I couldn't let Edward lose his alchemy. That was one of my main goals. He'd be able to live without it, sure. But it was a major part of his personality and his lifestyle. It would be a crime against humanity to rob them of a genius of his caliber. I guess it's not like I really belonged here anyway. I sighed, reaching a hand into one of my expanded pockets, pulling out my class ring, one of my precious links to my first home, and grabbed his hand, placing it inside. _

"_Well, guard that for me would you? Little memento of this idiot for you to keep around."_

"_What?"_

_I stepped into the circle, glancing out at everyone._

"_Maybe you can't use a human life, but I don't care either way at the moment. My soul won't be taken into the gate, at worst I'll end up in another world again. I know what you're going to attempt, Edward. And you'll hate it. Sure, you could endure, but the Fullmetal Alchemist-no longer an alchemist? Kind of a universe shattering concept."_

_He made to step back towards the circle,_

"_Good bye."_

I slammed my hands together sharply, only to be thrown bodily out of the circle by streaking blue lights. I lay on the ground, staring at the sky in confusion. Did I...just get rejected? By the fucking _Truth_? What the hell? I went from laying down to standing in the blink of an eye, hands going to my hips.

"What. The actual. Fuck."

I stepped into the circle again, clapping my hands. I was thrown further this time, managing to land on my feet and skid a bit instead of flopping. I marched right into the circle again, ignoring where Edward and the rest were just staring at me. I changed my intentions, just clapping and wanting to appear at the gate.

"What the fuck, bro?"

The white creature had its arms crossed and head tilted. It had never looked more human than in that moment.

"I've grown tired of your abuse of the system in this world. You're an exception to the rules, but that doesn't give you a right to walk all over them. I refuse."

I was sent hurtling from the white space, meeting the ground outside of the circle once again. Edward was beside me in a second,

"Steph? Stephanie!"

I groaned,

"Shut up, would you? I've just failed at life, how about I get a moment of silence for that or something."

I stood in one fluid movement, dusting myself off viciously.

"Right, okay, different method."

I stepped towards the circle again, only to feel a hand on my wrist yanking me back.

Edward glared at me, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"No! I can't let you do this!"

I pulled away sharply,

"It's not like it matters if you _let _me, which I don't frankly care what you _allow_ for me to do, the Truth isn't fond of me anymore, it would seem."

I made to walk towards the circle, only for Edward to step in my way again.

"I can't allow this Stephanie! I can't allow for the one I see as a little sister to sacrifice herself for my little brother!

I groaned, facepalming.

"Edward, I'm _older than you_! I'm like...I don't know, it doesn't matter, I'm like three or four years older than you, I win in the older sibling argument, now outta the way!"

"I can't let you!"

"Well it's not like I'm going to let _you_!"

"We're wasting time, we have to get Al back!"

"I agree, so move it! Leg it, right outta my way."  
He stepped in my way, heading me off every time I tried to make for the circle. Roy was behind us somewhere in the crowd, demanding that someone explain to him what was going on. We ignored him, but Riza was whispering somewhere, so she must have been complying.

I growled at Edward.

"Move it!"

"No!"

He tried a leg sweep, the bastard, but I leapt up, lashing out with a foot on my way down. He dodged, leaning back to get out of the way of my fist and then throwing himself forward in a punch of his own. I nudged it to the side, cheating with my mind palace, slowing things down with my unnatural abilities of perception. I was fast, but he was stronger than I was. If I let him land too good of a hit then he would come out on top in this, and I couldn't allow that. It was the first time we had fought for real, outside of games, or sparring. Neither of us had sunk so low as to use alchemy against the other.

I pulled a half matrix move, leaning back and grabbing his wrist when he overextended the punch, twisting to throw him using his own momentum. He managed to land on his feet, of course, turning to launch into another flurry of attacks.

It's not like I needed the circle anyway, I'd seen the Truth. I could probably just think really hard and open the gate from here. But that would run the risk of sucking Edward in as well…

Roy was yelling at us, but we were mostly tuning him out, until flames flew dangerously close to us, the heat seeping in through our clothes. We stopped dead, turning to him incredulously,

"What the hell, Bastard? You could have killed us!"

"Damnit man, if that had caught this coat there could have been dimensional collapse, black holes opening fucking everywhere! Jeez."

I clutched my heart with one hand, taking a half-second to slow my breathing. Roy was scowling, blind eyes pointed our way.

"Cease your childish squabbling! We've just finished fighting, there's no need to continue it amongst ourselves! Neither of you are allowed to sacrifice yourselves! We've all lost entirely too much today already."

I glanced at Edward,

"Time out for a second, kay?"

He nodded, stepping away from the circle. Thank god for his sense of fairplay. I stalked closer to Roy,

"Sorry, no one thought to tell our resident magic medic that you were hurt."

I gathered together raw energy from the Dragon's Pulse, testing the theory that had been brewing in the back of my mind ever since I saw he had lost his sight. There was all kind of research for repairing detached retina in the dusty corners of my mind, but the most prominent theory I had cobbled together involved using my strange mash of alchemy and alkahestry to just nudge everything back into place. The energy used would be raw natural stuff from the power lying around after that god-creature kind of exploded a bit.

I steeled myself, only sort of sure he would forgive me for intruding on his personal space, and took off my right glove, standing on my toes to gently touch his temple.

"This might tingle a bit."

I let blue lightning stream from the ground, through my feet, using myself as the amplifier, gently slotting everything back into place. I felt horrible about considering leaving him like this. What if he hadn't found Marco, or the little alkahestry user beside us had not thought to help him? The color seeped back into his eyes, and he blinked several times. I took my hand away quickly, sliding the glove back on and stepping backwards.

"There, much better."

I turned back to Edward, but my comment was lost as I thought back to what I had just tried, and succeeded to do. Raw leftover energy from the pulse...would it…?

I grinned viciously,

"Maybe there _is_ another method. Edward, Time in!"

I made to rush past his right, only to do a dorky pirouette, that I would deny until the end of time, and got past his defenses, sliding into the Transmutation circle, grin wild. I slammed my hands together before he could take another step, sucking in that excess energy as quickly as possible. The air swirled around the circle, the light dancing and ringing noise reverberating around us. When the god-like energy was depleted I started on the 'off-ness' that had surrounded Amestris, the taint that Father had forced into the life of the very earth around the country. Then I hit a barrier and was thrust forwards to face the Truth.

If I was wrong Ed would be furious and Al would be dead. If I was right Ed would be furious and Al would be alive. Either way I would have an angry blonde kicking my ass when I got back.

The Truth grinned, it's mouth stretching ghoulishly wide.

"Queen of the loophole, welcome back."

_Hm, I like that name, I think I'll keep it._

"Of course I'm back, now gimme."

I'm going to be the first to make 'god' roll its eyes, I'm sure of it.

"Just stay out of my sight from now on."

The doors swung open and for the first time, didn't make a mad grab for me. They insead deposited a shaking, emaciated form in front of me. I whipped off my coat without a second thought, putting it over his shoulders and wrapping it around him.

"Come on Alphonse, let's get you home."

The gate slammed closed, and I blinked in the sun, Alphonse as well. I glanced up at everyone, grinning and waving.

Edward pulled Al into a hug and I stepped back out of the way, giving them their moment. I glanced over at everyone else, expression smug.

"Truth called me Queen of the Loophole, so I'm pretty sure it's official in some way."

I was yanked downwards, and fell into a hug. I blinked for a second before hugging back. This...I'm glad I didn't have to leave this. It's not a blood family, we're all a little broken, the country is a _lotta _broken, actually, but...I'm home.

**To be continued in the sequel: Of Emeralds and Opals **

**~TimeLordOfPie**


	55. Epilogue?

The dimension that is between dimension is guarded by a creature known as Truth. When you find a rift, he'll be there, snarkily telling you to be on your way. And unless you're me, then you do what you're told. But someone was dying. And I've known the pain of being helpless and having people watch and do nothing. So I made a trade, and abandoned my home dimension. My new world was one that I had known already. A world that I had only just been introduced to as a heartbreaking story. Had I been anyone else then things would have gone a lot differently there. But I'm me. With my memory comparable to a computer, and encyclopedic knowledge of anything and everything someone probably wouldn't even _want _to know. Oh, I followed the anime, I let some things happen and prevented others. But I'm flawed. I would say 'I'm human' but with some of my mistakes it seems false at times. After it ended, all of it that was supposedly set in stone and the story was supposedly finished, I was allowed to stay. The written story was over. No more meddling needed. This story, is mine.

~Continued in Of Emeralds and Opals

The poll that was done for where she should end up had a close second, which will have a sequel on Ao3, tentatively. Feel free to look at it, or the other stuff on there.

Thanks for sticking with this so far, reviews make my day every time, seriously.

**~TimeLordOfPie**


End file.
